In The News

Is it the season to sell? Some say yes!

Ms. Wesley kept the door open from noon to 4p.m. on the Sunday before Christmas at the house on Linden Avenue, but no potential buyers appeared to tour the house, which has been on the market for six weeks. "I'm told by more experienced agents that things will get very busy again by February," said Ms. Wesley, who has been working for Weichert Realtors for less than a year.

But out in Jersey City, Sean T. Shallis of Re/Max Villa was saying "bah, humbug" to that kind of thinking.

Brandishing his personal list of "Top 10 Reasons to List a Home During the Holidays," Mr. Shallis said it is actually a good time to sell, in part because it is Wall Street bonus time. "It's the time of year when houses are dressed up so beautifully they can seem irresistible," he added, showing off a $2.95 million town house condominium elegantly decorated for Christmas and for sale at the Port Liberté complex.

Mr. Shallis estimated that he and his team do 10 percent of their annual business between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, or about 12 houses of the year's total of 125.

Although activity certainly slows, most people looking to buy at this time of year are particularly serious and very likely facing some sort of deadline, according to various brokers around the region. In fact, that's No. 1 on Mr. Shallis's list of 10 reasons to put a house up for sale during the holidays.

This is in line with Mr. Shallis's reason No. 5: "Since many people take vacation around the holidays, buyers have more time to look for a home than when they are busy working."

Mr. Shallis, on the other hand, said he believes holiday decorations are almost always a plus, making even homely homes look better. (It's his Reason No. 4).

Of course, it is possible to go over the top with ornamentation to the point of gaudiness or being "in your face," Mr. Shallis said. He advises sellers to think about the "three feet" rule used by department stores and supermarkets. "In stores," he said, "they want you to be able to read the labels from three feet away. In homes, when someone is three feet away from something hung on your wall, they should not be able to make out the details of anything that might be offensive or raise the eyebrows."

Some of Mr. Shallis's reasons to sell a house at holiday time are more financial than emotional. Some people must buy by year's end for tax reasons, and many people transfer to new jobs that start in January and need to be in a new house by then.

In both those cases a sale would need to be closed, not just pending, before New Year's. Mr. Shallis said the quickest a closing can be arranged is usually around 30 days, so for these situations, a house would have to be marketed around Thanksgiving.