Does anyone really decide to buy a house between mid-December and mid-January?

Actually, yes....  Last year, between December 15 and January 14, buyers wrote contracts on 43 homes in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.  Compare this to the past twelve months (page 6 of my most recent market report) and you'll find that seven of the twelve months didn't show too much more contract activity than was seen between last Dec 15 and Jan 14:

• lowest seven months of contracts: 45, 48, 51, 54, 59, 60, 60
• highest seven months of contracts: 74, 74, 84, 95, 121

Do remember, however, that even though those 43 sales weren't too much lower than quite a few other months of the year, it is still a small percentage of the currently active inventory (829 homes).

Thus, in the next month (+/-) we'll probably see about 1 in 20 homes go under contract.  The key question here is WHICH homes it will be that sell?  Perhaps those:

• priced most competitively
• in the most desirable locations
• in excellent condition

So....if you're considering taking your house off the market for the next month:

• other hopeful sellers will appreciate it, as it will reduce the competition
• you won't miss out on a tremendous amount of buyers (likely 43-ish)
• you will miss out on about the same number of buyers as you do roughly six out of twelve months of the year

Whether you're hoping to sell a house in the next thirty days, or just enjoying the one you're currently in, I hope you have a great holiday season!