What If You Were Home for the Holidays?
Every year, right around this time, I start hearing some version of the same thing.
“We really want to move, but with the holidays coming, maybe we should just wait until next year.”
And sometimes, waiting absolutely is the right answer.
But sometimes?
“After the holidays” becomes spring. Spring becomes summer. And suddenly another year has passed in a home that you already knew wasn't quite right for the life you want next.
So before you automatically decide to wait, I want to offer another possibility:
What if you simply made a plan?
You Don't Have to Rush to Move
There is a big difference between moving with intention and rushing.
If you told me today that you'd like to be in another home before Christmas, my first response wouldn't be, “Great! Let's put a sign in your yard tomorrow.”
I would start with questions.
Why do you want to move?
Where do you want to go?
What needs to change about your current home or location?
What would make the move financially comfortable?
Do you need to sell your current home before purchasing the next one?
And maybe most importantly, what's making you hesitate?
Because the goal isn't simply to get you moved.
The goal is to make a good move.
“But We Have to Sell Before We Can Buy.”
This is probably one of the biggest reasons homeowners stay put longer than they really want to.
You may know exactly what you'd like in your next house, but there's one fairly significant detail:
You're currently living in the down payment.
Your equity is tied up in your current home. You don't know whether you're supposed to sell first, buy first, somehow do both at the same time, or pack up the family and live in a hotel with your dog and a Christmas tree.
Understandably, that can make “let's just wait” sound pretty appealing.
But selling and buying at the same time isn't one decision.
It's a series of decisions that need to happen in the right order.
Before we ever talk about putting your home on the market, I want to understand what your current home could realistically sell for, what you may walk away with, what you want to purchase next, what financing options make sense for you and how the timing of those two transactions could work together.
Once you can actually see the path from House One to House Two, the process tends to feel a lot less intimidating.
And Yes, People Really Do Move During the Holidays
There's a common assumption that sometime around Halloween the real estate market packs up its belongings, puts on matching Christmas pajamas and comes back in March.
It doesn't.
Life continues.
People relocate for jobs. Families grow. Relationships change. Leases end. People want to be closer to family. Homeowners decide they're ready for more space, less space, another school zone, a shorter commute or simply a house that fits the way they live now.
The people looking for homes later in the year often aren't casually browsing because they have nothing better to do between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
They have a reason to move.
And intentional buyers and intentional sellers can make for a very good combination.
“I Don't Want Selling My House to Ruin the Holidays.”
I don't want that either.
Your home is still your home while we're selling it.
If you're hosting Thanksgiving, I want to know.
If your children have events, I want to know.
If family is coming into town, tell me.
If there are dates when you absolutely do not want people walking through your house, those belong in our conversation too.
And yes, you can still decorate your house.
We're selling your home.
We're not canceling Christmas.
A good real estate strategy should account for the fact that you have an actual life happening inside the property we're selling.
So, Could You Be Home for the Holidays?
Maybe.
And I actually mean maybe.
For some people reading this, there's enough time to prepare, list, sell, purchase and be unpacking boxes before the Christmas tree comes down.
For others, the smartest plan might be to spend this fall preparing so they're positioned beautifully for a move in January.
And there will be someone for whom waiting is simply the better financial or personal decision.
I don't think any of those outcomes are failures.
Because before you worry about when you're moving, you need to know how you're moving.
Introducing Home for the Holidays
That's why this fall I'm doing something a little different.
Home for the Holidays is a guided moving experience I've created for buyers, sellers, relocating households and especially homeowners who need to sell one home in order to purchase the next.
It starts with a conversation.
We'll look at where you are now, where you're trying to go, what needs to happen between the two and whether making a move over the next several months actually makes sense for you.
If it does, we'll build the roadmap.
If you need a little time to prepare, we'll build that roadmap.
And if the best decision is to wait?
We'll make that the plan, too.
No manufactured urgency. No arbitrary Christmas deadline.
Just good information, thoughtful strategy and a clear next step.
Because whether you're hanging stockings in a new home this Christmas or getting ready to make your move in the new year, I'd much rather see you move well than simply move quickly.
Ready to See What Your Move Could Look Like?
I'm opening a limited number of Home for the Holidays Planning Sessions this fall for people seriously considering a move over the next several months.
You don't need to have everything figured out.
That's what the planning session is for.
Angela Nash
Realtor & Lifestyle Curator
Serving Columbia and the surrounding Midlands
