10 Reasons The Holidays Are A Great Time To Sell A Duplex

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like the holidays would be a great time to sell your Minneapolis duplex. And yet, nothing could be further from the truth.

Especially this year.

Here are 10 reasons to sell your duplex during the holidays:

1. Duplex inventory is down. While this is generally true during the holiday season, as has been noted here, the Minneapolis duplex market is currently in dire need of inventory. In short, you have less competition.
2. People looking to buy in the winter are serious. Come on, would you put on your parkas, boots or snowshoes to go look at property if you weren’t determined to buy?
3. Many duplex investors and owner occupants buy at year’s end for tax reasons.
4. If you close on the sale of your duplex early in the year (2012) and are facing tax consequences as a result, you have the rest of the year to come up with strategic ways to reduce your obligations.
5. January is typically the biggest transfer month. Many corporations move employees to new locations at the start of the calendar year. These buyers are motivated to buy and get settled before starting their new jobs.
6. Fewer buyers mean fewer showings. While this may sound like a bad thing, your duplex tenants will be disrupted less for showings and when they are, you will know it is so a motivated buyer can look at the duplex.
7. Buyers have more time to shop during the holidays. Motivated buyers spend days off with a Realtor, looking for duplexes. While most of the year this consists of weekends, during the holidays, it’s the down time between Christmas and New Year’s.
8. Your duplex looks better during the holidays. Whether you owner occupy your duplex, or have it as an investment property, tenants decorate for the holidays, which helps your units show better.
9. You may net more for your duplex, as you have less competition in the marketplace.
10. You can sell in the winter, and buy in the spring. While holiday duplex buyers don’t have much to choose from, sellers who want to reinvest can feel confident they will find more opportunities to do so as the spring market heats up.

Call me if you’re thinking about selling your duplex.  Doing so might be the best holiday gift you get this year!