Buying or Selling a Home in Winter: What You Need to Know

You’ve probably heard it before: Nobody buys or sells a home in the winter, right? Well, if you check the numbers, you’d see that plenty of homes are sold during the coldest months of the year.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, over 11,000 homes are sold per day on average from December to February.¹ That’s a lot of houses!

In other words, the number of homes bought and sold during the winter is nothing to sneeze at. In fact, there are actually some pretty cool advantages to navigating the housing market while Jack Frost is nipping at your nose.

So, chill with us as we break down the pros and shares our top tips for buying or selling a home in the winter.

Tips for Selling in the Winter

It’s no secret that when you’re selling a home, staging can be key. In fact, about two-thirds of top real estate agents say staging helps sell houses. To add to that, a properly staged home can sell for up to 13% more!²

See where we’re going here?

Nothing says, “welcome home” quite like the scent of a gingerbread candle and twinkling Christmas lights. It’s a cozy feeling exclusive to the colder months—making it easier to stage a house for buyers and have it feel like their own.

Here are a few more tips to help you set the buying mood:

• Keep it simple. If you’re selling around a holiday and have decorations up, make sure they accent—not overpower—a room. Less is more.
• Crank up the cozy. Light a fire in the fireplace, play soft holiday music in the background, and prepare fresh-baked goods or mulled cider for guests.
• Shine a light outside. Winter days get dark early. Brighten your home’s exterior with outdoor spotlights.
• Take down outside decor. Even as we play up the holiday angle here, nothing says, “My home won’t sell” like a house with reindeer inflatables on the lawn in February, so carefully consider your outdoor display.
• Avoid a winter wonderland. Snow is great—unless we’re talking about outside shots of your home. Buyers want to see details of the house, not a blanket of snow. Make sure you have clear-weather photos of your home.
• Upload high-quality photos to listings. It can take a lot to get people out of their house in the winter. Thankfully, folks do a ton of research online these days, making professional photos almost essential. In fact, over 80% of buyers age 25–68 rank photos as very useful in their home search.³  Setting up an online virtual tour is also a solid option.

Remember, the nicer your home looks, the more likely it is to sell—and for more money.

Advantages to Selling Your Home in the Winter

Okay, huddle up, home sellers. Let’s unpack the perks of selling your home when the air gets chilly.

1. You’ll face less competition.

Come spring, more sellers will flood the market, making your home just another fish in a great big pond. But, since most people think winter’s a bad time to sell a home, you’ll be facing a lot less competition in the colder months.

For example, the number of active home listings in the U.S. during the winter of 2023–24 dipped and didn’t begin rebounding until the spring.⁴ If that pattern repeats in 2024–25, you’ll have less competition on the market if you list your home during the winter. Buyers have fewer homes to choose from, which means you could sell your house faster.

2. Buyers often mean business.

Most folks want to curl up under a blanket next to a warm fire on a cold winter day. If a buyer is trudging around in freezing weather or breaking away from their holiday schedule to look at your home, they must be serious.

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That’s because many winter buyers are working against a deadline, whether it’s an expiring lease, a relocation or a contract on their current home. They may also be trying to snag some tax breaks before the end of the year.

3. Real estate agents are more motivated.

Okay, this one’s a biggie—during peak home-selling season, schedules get crazy. And even the best real estate agents might find it challenging to provide their undivided attention when managing dozens—sometimes hundreds—of clients.

Since there are fewer listings in the winter, it’s a whole lot easier for real estate agents to provide personalized attention for both buyers and sellers. That means more time to:

• Schedule showings
• Host same-day viewings
• Help stage your home
• Assist with negotiations

4. People have time off during the holidays.

You may think people are less likely to see your home in the midst of their hectic holiday schedules—and in some cases, you’d be right.

But here’s something else to think about: Most folks have extra time off during the holiday season. And while they’re relaxing in their comfy-cozy clothes, they could be scrolling through their favorite home-listing apps—dreaming up decor ideas and even scheduling home showings.

Tips for Buying in the Winter

Alright, home buyers. Now it’s your turn. Below are some tips for buying a house when the weather outside is frightful.

• Don’t buy until you’re debt-free with an emergency fund. Hold off on buying a home if you haven’t paid off all your consumer debt (think credit cards, car notes and student loans) or saved up a full emergency fund worth 3–6 months of your typical expenses. You should prioritize those financial goals first.
• Save up a strong down payment. You need to make a strong down payment when you buy a home, because a bigger down payment means smaller monthly payments and less debt overall. Aim for a 20% down payment since that’ll keep you from having to pay monthly private mortgage insurance (PMI) fees. (A 5–10% down payment is fine if you’re a first-time home buyer, though.)
• Stick to your budget. Sure, home prices might drop a bit with the temperatures. But that doesn’t mean you should justify spending any more than 25% of your monthly take-home pay on housing payments. To make sure your winter home purchase is a blessing and not a curse, calculate how much house you can afford and stick to it.
• Negotiate with confidence. Remember, there isn’t much competition. So, sellers will probably be willing to work with you. If the home inspection brings up some issues, don’t be afraid to ask your seller to make repairs or lower the asking price.

Advantages to Buying Your Home in the Winter

Now, here are some of the biggest advantages to buying a home in winter:

1. You’ll face less competition.

Home sellers aren’t the only ones who face less competition during the winter! As we saw earlier, home sales take a bit of a plunge around this time. So, typically, you won’t have to deal with as many competing buyers as you would if you waited to buy in spring. Which probably means you don’t have to worry as much about someone else snagging your dream home before you can submit an offer, or about getting caught in a bidding war.

It’s kind of like when someone brings in holiday treats to share with the office but most of your coworkers are out of town. You get first dibs on the best desserts!

2. You may get a better deal.

Since supply and demand for housing are both down during the winter months, you might be able to save money on your purchase! Hard to believe? Get this:

The median sales price of homes sold in January 2024 was about $28,000 lower than homes sold in April 2024.⁵

That means people who bought their homes during winter saved tens of thousands of dollars compared to those who waited to buy in the spring or summer! That might make any challenges of buying during the wintertime worthwhile.

3. You’ll have more time with your agent.

With fewer listings on the market, agents have more time to provide personalized support and attention during your search. This gives them more bandwidth to:

• Arrange showings that fit your schedule
• Offer same-day viewings for quick decision-making
• Assist with market research and pricing guidance
• Negotiate the best deal for you

4. You can lock in the current mortgage rate.

As you’ve probably seen, interest rates are a little all over the place lately. The good news? Rates are somewhat lower this year than they’ve been in a while.⁶

So, if you’re going to use a mortgage to buy a house, locking in your rate now could save you from paying more down the road. And if rates do wind up going down even more over the next year or so, you can always refinance.

If you follow these tips, there’s a solid chance you’ll find the house you want and get a good price on it this winter.

Ready to Buy or Sell Your Home in Winter?

While the winter months are often considered the worst months to sell or buy a house, that doesn’t mean it has to be a bad time for you. By understanding and leveraging winter market advantages, hopefully buying or selling a home won’t feel so daunting.

We also know you’ve got a lot on your plate this time of year. That’s why we’ve put together some helpful real estate resources to check everything off your list.

Yup. Just like Santa.