Buying, Selling or Renting Your Home This Winter in Alexandria?

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Worried about buying, selling or renting your home during the holidays or winter season? Local real estate agent Karisue Wyson of McEnearney Associates offers these tips to Patch readers:

By KARISUE WYSON

Buyers:

• Holidays = less competition: Serious buyers can scoop up great properties while other buyers are sidelined with holiday business, family travel and year-end work to wrap up. There may be less inventory and some picked over properties, but if a gem pops up, these savvy buyers and their agents are in the perfect position to move.
• Negotiations: In order to make a quick sale, sellers may be willing to negotiate on items that wouldn't fly in the spring. Do you need a quick closing or a longer settlement timeframe? Want something in the home to convey -- like patio furniture they don't want to put into winter storage before the snow? This time of year as sellers are competing for fewer buyers, your agent can get creative in asking for things that might not pan out during other times of the year.
• Tax benefits: By buying at the end of the year, purchasers can take advantage of this year's tax benefits rather than waiting until the following year.
• Holiday bonuses: A year-end work bonus is the perfect excuse for a good down payment!

Sellers:

• A transient city: The DC Metro area is so transient that there is really never an "off-season." Military, government and relocation employees are known for getting orders at the last-minute and having to scramble for housing at all times of the year. Sellers who wait until the spring may miss the opportunity for a quick deal.
• Tax benefits: Again, buyers -- especially investors -- are looking to settle before the end of the year for tax benefits. Coming on at the end of the year means you have less days on the market, which will look more attractive to those with a Dec. 31 deadline.
• Holiday mindset: If you're on the market by October, sellers tend to be ready to get a bigger place to host holiday family gatherings. There is also a "home for the holidays" push that makes buyers excited to be settled in their new home before the end of the year.
• New audiences abound: Sellers who live in popular neighborhoods for light shows or on the way to popular civic centers will have a lot of new eyeballs seeing their "For Sale" sign in the yard. Visitors to friends' and family's holiday parties will also get the chance to check out neighborhoods outside of their usual travel patterns and will provide the best possible chance to catch those who think, "Wow, I never knew this neighborhood existed!"

Rentals:

• Rental market: The rental market in the DMV is never slow thanks to the transient population. There are always renters looking for a new abode.
• Lease agreements: Tenants who are flexible can offer to rent for a 14-, 15- or 16-month lease that puts the landlord back on a more desirable spring market timeframe. An agent may even be able to negotiate this term in exchange for a lower rental rate.

Anecdotes:

• I had eight transactions between 11/1/15 and 2/28/16. This year, I have one settlement scheduled for 12/23/16 and another on 1/4/17, plus several renters who are relocating post-election. In 2014, I even worked with buyers on Christmas Day for an offer we presented the next day. For agents and clients who are willing to give up a little vacation time, there is plenty of home-buying, selling and renting holiday cheer out there!
• I once held an Open House on Super Bowl Sunday, usually a dead time because of winter weather and game watcher preoccupation. But there was a couple on their way to a friend's Super Bowl party in Lake Barcroft, liked the drive through the neighborhood, saw my "Open House" signs and ended up buying the house after their visit! It taught me to never miss the chance to catch buyers "off the beaten path."

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