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Homebuying during the holidays: Pros and cons experts say to know
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It’s already November, and the holidays are quickly approaching. Thankfully, inflation has cooled significantly compared to recent highs (though it just ticked back up again a bit), and interest rates have been falling after the Fed’s latest move. That makes this expensive time of year a little more affordable for American consumers.
Does that mean it’s the right time to make a big financial move, though, like buying a house? There are certainly arguments for it — and also against it. If you’ve been considering whether it’s the right time to make this big move, here’s what to know.
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Homebuying during the holidays: Pros and cons experts say to know
Here are the pros and cons experts say to consider before buying a home around the holidays.
Pro: Less competition and lower prices
Winter isn’t typically a popular time to buy a home. The vast majority of homebuyers are active in spring and summer, hoping to buy and move into their homes before the start of a new school year. This means that those who do opt for a winter home purchase often face less competition. That can mean fewer bidding wars and an easier time winning a home.
It also means “more negotiating leverage,” according to Smitha Ramchandani, a broker associate and director of international partnerships at Christie’s International Real Estate Group.
“In recent years, the real estate market has seen high demand and rising prices — often with buyers competing in multiple-offer situations,” Ramchandani says. “During the holiday season, many people are focused on events and travel, which can create opportunities for serious buyers. Those actively looking may be able to negotiate more favorable terms, conditions, and prices.”
Ramchandani is right about lower pricing: The median sale price for homes fell 1.1% between October and November last year and another 1.1% between November and December, according to Redfin data.
Sellers also cut prices more often around the holidays. Nearly 19% of listings in November 2023 saw a price drop, according to Redfin, and in December, it was 14%.
“Sellers who list in the winter — especially around the holidays, are often eager to close quickly,” says Maria Avellaneda, an associate broker with Keller Williams NYC. This could “lead to price reductions or flexibility on closing terms.”
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Pro: Tax advantages
Buying a home might be expensive right now, but it also comes with a number of benefits that can help save you cash come tax season.
“For buyers, completing a purchase before year-end allows them to claim tax deductions for mortgage interest, property taxes, and closing costs,” Ramchandani says. “This can reduce their tax burden for the current year.”
Keep in mind that you have to itemize your returns to take these deductions. This may or may not be worth it, depending on how much your deductions total up.
Pro: Easier access to the experts
Finally, buying near the holidays can often mean better service. Because real estate agents, inspectors and other parties have fewer clients, you can expect to get more attention and face time with those you choose to work with.
“Buyers might expect a higher level of attention, receptivity, and cooperation from every service provider — from brokers to finance professionals to attorneys,” says Douglas Wagner, an associate real estate broker and director of brokerage services with BOND New York Properties. “We like you in the fall, and we love you during the holidays.”
Sellers and their agents may be more attentive, too.
“In a market that is not as busy as usual, sellers and their agents are going to be eager to accommodate showings,” Wagner says.
Con: Fewer listings
Buyers are generally less active in the wintertime, and the same goes for sellers.
“Many sellers tend to wait until after the holidays to list their homes,” Wagner says. “And if they listed previously, some sellers will temporarily withdraw their homes from the market over the holidays.”
This is especially true for sellers who still live in their homes, as they “may want to avoid the interruptions that come with being on the market during a time that is reserved for family gatherings and entertaining at home.”
This particular winter season may be slightly different due to where mortgage rates are headed, according to Bret Weinstein, founder of Guide Real Estate in Denver.
“Mortgage rates have bounced back up a bit,” Weinstein says. “There is the expectation they will drop, but this has led to a surplus of holiday inventory right now. Most people aren’t buying and there are a ton of options and a large amount of negotiation that can take place.”
Cons: Difficulty finding service providers
When you buy a home, you typically need help along the way. You usually need an agent, a home inspector, a land surveyor, a notary and a title company, and depending on your state, you might need an attorney, too. But all these people have holiday plans as well.
“Holiday schedules and festivities can make it challenging to coordinate with sellers, agents, inspectors, lenders, movers, contractors, attorneys, sometimes leading to scheduling conflicts or delays,” Ramchandani says.
Ramchandani recommends being flexible and having patience, as bottlenecks can be common during this time of year. Avellaneda simply says to “plan ahead.”
“Lining up these services early and being flexible is essential,” Avellaneda says.
Con: Added stress
Last but not least, buying a home around the holidays can be stressful at a time that’s already anxiety-ridden for many. There are gifts to buy and wrap, family members to visit and parties to host, so adding a home purchase to the mix can be a lot.
“Balancing a home purchase with holiday obligations can add a layer of stress,” Louis Adler, co-founder and principal at REAL New York, says.
For some buyers, the stress may just be worth it, though.
“Buying a home during the holiday season may not be conventional, but it has unique perks,” Adler says.
The bottom line
Forecasts predict that lower mortgage rates are on the horizon, so some homebuyers may be tempted to wait it out and buy later in 2025. Just keep in mind: As rates drop, demand will rise, and that could send home prices up as well (offsetting any savings you get from lower rates).
Generally, experts recommend buying a house when the interest rate and numbers work for your budget and the purchase aligns with your current needs and lifestyle. If you’re not sure whether it’s a good time to buy a house for you personally, talk to a local real estate agent, loan officer, or financial advisor. They can help you weigh your options and make the best decision for your finances.
Roger Carstens, the Biden administration’s top official for freeing Americans held overseas, on Friday arrived in Damascus, Syria, for a high-risk mission: making the first known face-to-face contact with the caretaker government and asking for help finding missing American journalist Austin Tice.
Tice was kidnapped in Syria 12 years ago during the civil war and brutal reign of now-deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. For years, U.S. officials have said they do not know with certainty whether Tice is still alive, where he is being held or by whom.
The State Department’s top diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, accompanied Carstens to Damascus as a gesture of broader outreach to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS, the rebel group that recently overthrew Assad’s regime and is emerging as a leading power.
Near East Senior Adviser Daniel Rubinstein was also with the delegation. They are the first American diplomats to visit Damascus in over a decade, according to a State Department spokesperson.
They plan to meet with HTS representatives to discuss transition principles endorsed by the U.S. and regional partners in Aqaba, Jordan, the spokesperson said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Aqaba last week to meet with Middle East leaders and discuss the situation in Syria.
While finding and freeing Tice and other American citizens who disappeared under the Assad regime is the ultimate goal, U.S. officials are downplaying expectations of a breakthrough on this trip. Multiple sources told CBS News that Carstens and Leaf’s intent is to convey U.S. interests to senior HTS leaders, and learn anything they can about Tice.
Rubinstein will lead the U.S. diplomacy in Syria, engaging directly with the Syrian people and key parties in Syria, the State Department spokesperson added.
Diplomatic outreach to HTS comes in a volatile, war-torn region at an uncertain moment. Two sources even compared the potential danger to the expeditionary diplomacy practiced by the late U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who led outreach to rebels in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 and was killed in a terrorist attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound and intelligence post.
U.S. special operations forces known as JSOC provided security for the delegation as they traveled by vehicle across the Jordanian border and on the road to Damascus. The convoy was given assurances by HTS that it would be granted safe passage while in Syria, but there remains a threat of attacks by other terrorist groups, including ISIS.
CBS News withheld publication of this story for security concerns at the State Department’s request.
Sending high-level American diplomats to Damascus represents a significant step in reopening U.S.-Syria relations following the fall of the Assad regime less than two weeks ago. Operations at the U.S. embassy in Damascus have been suspended since 2012, shortly after the Assad regime brutally repressed an uprising that became a 14-year civil war and spawned 13 million Syrians to flee the country in one of the largest humanitarian disasters in the world.
The U.S. formally designated HTS, which had ties to al Qaeda, as a foreign terrorist organization in 2018. Its leader, Mohammed al Jolani, was designated as a terrorist by the US in 2013 and prior to that served time in a US prison in Iraq.
Since toppling Assad, HTS has publicly signaled interest in a new more moderate trajectory. Al Jolani even shed his nom de guerre and now uses his legal name, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
U.S. sanctions on HTS linked to those terrorist designations complicate outreach somewhat, but they haven’t prevented American officials from making direct contact with HTS at the direction of President Biden. Blinken recently confirmed that U.S. officials were in touch with HTS representatives prior to Carstens and Leaf’s visit.
“We’ve heard positive statements coming from Mr. Jolani, the leader of HTS,” Blinken told Bloomberg News on Thursday. “But what everyone is focused on is what’s actually happening on the ground, what are they doing? Are they working to build a transition in Syria that brings everyone in?”
In that same interview, Blinken also seemed to dangle the possibility that the U.S. could help lift sanctions on HTS and its leader imposed by the United Nations, if HTS builds what he called an inclusive nonsectarian government and eventually holds elections. The Biden administration is not expected to lift the U.S. terrorist designation before the end of the president’s term on January 20th.
Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder disclosed Thursday that the U.S. currently has approximately 2,000 US troops inside of Syria as part of the mission to defeat ISIS, a far higher number than the 900 troops the Biden administration had previously acknowledged. There are at least five U.S. military bases in the north and south of the country.
The Biden administration is concerned that thousands of ISIS prisoners held at a camp known as al-Hol could be freed. It is currently guarded by the Syrian Democratic forces, Kurdish allies of the U.S. who are wary of the newly-powerful HTS. The situation on the ground is rapidly changing since Russia and Iran withdrew military support from the Assad regime, which has reset the balance of power. Turkey, which has been a sometimes problematic U.S. ally, has been a conduit to HTS and is emerging as a power broker.
A high-risk mission like this is unusual for the typically risk averse Biden administration, which has exercised consistently restrained diplomacy. Blinken approved Carstens and Leaf’s trip and relevant congressional leaders were briefed on it days ago.
“I think it’s important to have direct communication, it’s important to speak as clearly as possible, to listen, to make sure that we understand as best we can where they’re going and where they want to go,” Blinken said Thursday.
At a news conference in Moscow Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had not yet met with Assad, who fled to Russia when his regime fell earlier this month. Putin added that he would ask Assad about Austin Tice when they do meet.
Tice, a Marine Corps veteran, worked for multiple news organizations including CBS News.
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