Absolutely, Many of the other answers have given the stats from the last year. I can say from 16 years of selling in Wilmette that there are always sales between Thanksgiving and the Super bowl. Some years more than others, but there are always sales and there is nothing wrong with being listed during that time period. I have sold some of my listings during that time. johnnash.homes@gmail.com

An update for this season: between Nov 27, 2008 and Feb 1st, 2009 there were 34 properties closed in Wilmette in the price range from $165K to $4,400K. Wilmette is a part of the North Shore Communities I work with. Feel free to contact me with more questions.

Doug: The short answer to your question is that with the right price, a house will sell regardless of season.

Nine properties not only agreed to a contract since Nov 1 but have also closed. (That's roughly the time frame of your question.) Another 8 agreed to a contract and are still wating to clear contingencies in that period. Interestingly those that are waiting to clear contingencies had an average market time of nearly 390 days (it took a long time for most of them to reduce their original price to one that was finally meaningful to a buyer.) Those that have closed had a market time of under 200 days. Apparently they seemed to get the message faster. NB: I do know that several of the closed properties also had major price reductions and a few "re-launched" the listing thus reducing market time. But, they have sold and are on other things.

There is always a buyer for a house. Buyers are just more selective and they know time is on their side. My advice to my listing clients is, Price Is Critical. We need to be ahead of the buyers and competitive properties that are listed as ACTIVE. Using a Sold property as pricing guide is are not as meaningful as it was two years ago. You need to be concerned with current competition.

DS

To answer your question more specifically, in Wilmette, 26 single family homes closed last year with a contract date between Thanksgiving and the Superbowl. Price range was $271k to $4.3M.

As an agent, I historically stay pretty busy during this period. It's not unusual for buyers to come out to view homes when they have more potential time away from work.

If your looking to sell, you should definitely keep the house on the market. Undoubtedly, serious buyers feel they can get their best deal during the holidays.

If you're looking to buy, it's a great market and a great time of year to get a good deal.

Doug,
The serious buyers are very active during this time frame. If one "needs" to buy they are looking everyday. Sellers should keep their homes on the market during this time as well because there are fewer homes on the market, creating less competition. I'm based in Winnetka and would be willing to share actual numbers showing past activity during the holidays.

Doug, The actual holiday meal is what? 3 hours, 4 hours, mayby 10 am Thurs to 6 pm thurs evening? If you are selling, and having your celebration then and just do not want to be bothered, put a message on the machine that says do not show during those hours. Remember, there are a lot of people in town that are not normally there during this holiday, or any holiday. I would not give up the opportunity. Besides, as heritical as it seems, there are a lot of people out there that a. hate football, b. do not have much family and it is just another day off. These guys are going to make good use of the time. Also, folks looking in off times tend to be a bit more serious because why would you be doing this now if you were not serious. December and January in my market are like that. I do not recommend my sellers take their home off the market at that time. If you are a buyer, you might find the good of this time of year is the sellers available are really motivated to sell. The down side is a lot of people go off market and there is less to look at. Good luck which ever way you are working this. Dave Atherton

Doug,

I am sure you are wrestling with whether or not you want to keep your house on the market during the holidays - many people do. Keep in mind however that you house can't sell if it isn't being made available. You probably won't get many, but the good news is that the showings you get during this time will be from serious buyers - who wants to spend their time kicking tires on houses during the holidays?

Good Luck!!

Cameron Piper