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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: nextrade! who wrote (15270)	11/26/2003 11:04:36 PM
From: Doughboy	Respond to of 306849

From WSJ.com: Does Santa Bring Cheer To the Housing Market? By ROBERT IRWIN Question: My husband and I would like to buy a home in Las Vegas. But we have heard that it isn't a good idea to purchase around the end of the year during the holidays because there are fewer homes for sale. Should we wait for the spring, when many more sellers put their homes on the market? -- Sarah, Las Vegas Sarah: While it is true that the end of the year, particularly the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, is usually the slowest time for real estate, it isn't true that this is a bad time to buy. Actually, it can be the best time for a buyer! At year's end, most people's thoughts turn to things other than real estate. There are trips to plan and take, dinners to arrange, parties to attend, gifts to buy... and on and on. With all of this happening, it is no surprise that both those who want to buy and those who want to sell homes often put their real-estate plans on hold. But this doesn't apply for those who have urgent reasons to act. Some sellers, for example, must sell at once. Perhaps there has been a job change, retirement or divorce that makes relocation necessary. Typically, the number of motivated sellers increases dramatically at year's end. In other words, the number of sellers who are desperate to sell may actually increase. This occurs at the same time that the number of available buyers decreases. This is partly because of the holiday season noted above, and partly because many buyers have children in school and don't want to move until spring or summer. (The competition among plentiful buyers in spring and summer is why it is often the worst time to buy.) In other words, at year's end the market can briefly switch from a seller's advantage to a buyer's. Thus, if you are a buyer, you are far more likely to find a seller willing to drop the price (or arrange for more reasonable terms) during the holiday season. In fact, the normally dead week between Christmas and New Year's sometimes gives buyers the best opportunity to get a really good deal! Having said that, keep in mind that there are regional exceptions. Las Vegas tends to be a year-round market, hence the "Christmas effect" is likely to be less pronounced there. And in some areas where there is a shortage of housing, there is no really good time to buy. Having said that, however, don't stop looking. We may be entering the very best time of the year for buyers. -- Mr. Irwin has more than 25 years' experience as a Los Angeles-area real-estate broker. He is the author of more than two dozen books about real estate and is recognized as one of the most knowledgeable writers in the real-estate field. Mr. Irwin's most recent books are "How to Get Started in Real Estate Investing" and "How to Buy a Home When You Can't Afford It" (McGraw-Hill, 2002). Submit your question to realestatejournal@wsj.com, with your first name and the city where you're located, which a