Buying or Selling During the Holidays? From Spooky Season to New Year's Streamers
The jack-o'-lanterns are out, the stores already have Christmas stuff up, and somewhere between the candy corn and the countdown, a few people are wondering if this is a crazy time to make a move.
So is buying or selling during the holidays a good idea? Honest answer: it can be. I've closed deals this time of year. But it's not just holly and mistletoe. Listing your home or house hunting between Halloween and New Year's should be an actual decision, not something you drift into because the house looks great with the lights on.
Here's what really changes, for buyers and sellers.
Buying or Selling During the Holidays: What Changes
The weeks get shorter. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. Every one of them chops a few working days out of the calendar. Lenders, escrow, title, and county offices close for holidays, and a lot of people take extra days around them. When a deal needs a signature, an appraisal, or a loan document, a short week can push it back.
Look at this year's calendar. Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. Christmas and New Year's Day both land on a Friday, so those are long weekends back to back. If you're trying to close before the end of the month, or before the end of the year, those days disappear fast.
And the Friday after Thanksgiving isn't just an extra day off. It's a day that can kill a deal if you let it. It's not a federal holiday, so on paper it can look like a regular business day. But in LA County, the Friday after Thanksgiving is a county holiday, so county offices, including the recorder, are closed. That matters, because a sale isn't done until it records. On top of that, a lot of lenders, escrow offices, and title companies close or run with a skeleton crew, and plenty of the people on your deal take it off. If your home is on the Kern County side, like Rosamond or Tehachapi, check their schedule too. And check your contract. The standard California purchase agreement generally pushes the closing to the next day the recorder, lender, and escrow are all open, but other deadlines don't necessarily move with it. If you've got a document due, a signing, or a closing set for that Friday, plan around it like it's a holiday. (And yes, it's Black Friday. We'll get to that.)
Month-end and year-end deadlines get tight. A lot of people want to close by December 31. Some buyers want the house before the year flips for tax reasons. That can make sense, but it's a conversation for your tax professional, not a rule you should count on. Everybody's situation is different. If a year-end close matters to you, say so up front, so your lender and escrow can plan around it from day one instead of scrambling in the last week.
Showing times get tighter. Sellers have family in town, parties, kids home from school, travel. Some homes are only available a few hours here and there. Some go dark for a week. Buyers have their own schedules too.
But here's the thing. Timelines and showing times really come down to what each client needs. One seller wants a quiet December and a January close. Another needs it sold before the new year. You make it work.
If You're Selling: Use the Feeling, Don't Fight It
I'll be honest with you. Walking through someone's home with the tree up, presents underneath, and the stockings hung is a little strange. You feel like you're intruding on Christmas morning.
But that feeling is exactly the point.
Real estate is about the vibe. As a seller, you want buyers to attach to your home. You want them to walk in and picture their own holidays there, their own tree in that corner, their own family around that table. And a home decorated for the holidays can do that better than any empty room.
So don't fight it. Use it.
Put the tree up. A tree in the living room says "home" faster than anything I can write in a listing description.
Wrap a few boxes. You don't need real presents under there. A few wrapped empty boxes give the feel without leaving gifts out while strangers walk through.
Keep it simple. Decorations should make the house feel warm, not crowded. If buyers can't see the fireplace because of the decorations, you've gone too far.
Clean up after the party. If you hosted last night, the house still has to show this afternoon.
Put valuables away. That goes for any showing, but holiday time means more stuff in the house, and more of it is new and in boxes.
And remember, if you sell, you still have to move. Your buyer doesn't care that it's the holidays. They want their new home for their holidays. If you're listing in November, plan for the possibility of packing boxes next to the wrapping paper.
One more thing for sellers. Pay attention to the response. Fewer showings in December can just be the season. But if nobody's coming at all, or the only offers are low, don't blame it all on Christmas. That can still be the price talking, and it's worth knowing what your showings are telling you.
And before any of this, ask yourself whether you actually have to sell right now, or whether January works just as well.
If You're Buying: That Home Feeling Is Real (So Check It Twice)
For buyers, that home feeling feels good. You walk into a house with the lights on and the tree up and it just clicks. That's a real thing, and it matters. You want to love where you live.
But the tree doesn't come with the house.
Picture the room without it. Picture it in July. Look up, down, and all around, the same way you would any other time of year. Holiday decorations can hide a stained ceiling corner or a cracked tile just as easily as a couch can.
And keep your head on the payment, not the twinkle lights. Remember, your lender's max isn't your budget. Only you know what you're comfortable paying every month, with taxes and insurance included, long after the holidays are over.
Put the Credit Card Down
Here's the one that bites buyers every year. This is the time of year people love to spend money. They love to swipe that credit card. Gifts, travel, a new TV, a new couch for the new house.
If you're in escrow, don't.
Your lender can check your credit and your debts again before closing. A new card, a big purchase, or financing furniture before you get the keys can change your numbers and put your loan at risk. I've got a whole post on what not to do before closing, and the holidays are when it matters most.
And let's be real. The seller doesn't care that your spouse, your kids, or whoever's been hinting wants that new computer or video game. They want the deal done on time with no hiccups. Buy the couch after you close. Check with your lender before you do anything that touches your credit.
The Deal That Was Supposed to Close Before Christmas
Here's a real one.
I had a buyer purchasing a bank-owned home. It was vacant, so no tree, no lights, nothing to fall for but the house itself. We were scheduled to close about a week before Christmas.
It was a busy time for loans, so lenders and underwriting were taking longer than usual. And every time we thought we had everything the lender needed, the goal post moved. We'd send the next piece of documentation to clear the issue, and right back to the back of the line we went.
Underwriting would get to it in 48 to 72 hours. A couple of rounds of that, and suddenly it's Christmas week. Christmas Eve, people take their time and head home early, as they should. Things roll into the next week. Then there's another holiday.
Now you're asking the bank that owns the house for an extension. We had a good enough argument, and we got it. If I remember right, we finally closed somewhere around January 10th.
And here's the part nobody thinks about. Even once we made it out of the lender's haunted maze, escrow still had to do what escrow does. Get the loan documents. Set up a notary. Get everything signed. Get it back, review it, and send it to the lender for their review. Then the pre-closing conditions, and the buyer's cash to close has to be wired in.
It sounds minimal. It's not. It sounds easy. Again, it's not. It's easier now than it was back in the early 2000s. The technology is a lot better, and as I write this in October 2026, lenders don't seem as slammed as they were during that deal. But every one of those steps still needs a person who's at their desk, and during the holidays, a lot of them aren't.
(Quick tip while we're on wires: before you send your cash to close, call the escrow or title company at a number you already know is real and confirm the wiring instructions. Never trust instructions that only show up in an email.)
You're Not Just Dealing With Your Holidays
That's the lesson from that deal. If you get into escrow in November or December, you're not just juggling your holidays. You're dealing with everyone else's too.
The other side has family coming in. Their agent might be traveling. The lender's processor might be out the week of Christmas. The seller might be hosting 20 people the day the inspector needs to get in. And it's cold and flu season, so odds are somebody on the deal ends up home sick for a few days. Everybody's stretched.
That doesn't mean it can't work. It works all the time. Every deal has hiccups. It just depends on how you, your lender, and your agent deal with them.
If the calendar's tight, here's what I'd think about: building a longer escrow in from the start. Either side can ask for it. Say you're looking at a December 29th close. Depending on the deal, you might set it for January 20th instead. If everybody's ready sooner and everyone's good with it, you can close early. It's a lot easier to have a longer escrow and close early than to promise a date you can't hit and end up begging for an extension. Underpromise and overdeliver.
A few catches. Closing early isn't automatic. Everybody has to agree, the loan has to be ready, the seller has to be packed and out, and the change usually goes in writing. A longer escrow can also mean the seller stays in the house longer, which works great for some sellers and not at all for others. If you're buying, ask your lender how a longer escrow affects your rate lock. A longer lock can cost more, and you don't want it running out before you close. And if you need to close by December 31 for a specific reason, a January date obviously won't work for you.
Either way, get the dates on the calendar early. Know who's out when. And give everybody, including the people on the other side of the deal, a little grace. A transaction is a team, even in December.
So, Should You Buy or Sell During the Holidays?
Here's how I'd think about it:
Do you have a real reason to move now? A job, a family change, a lease ending, a home that doesn't fit anymore. If yes, the holidays don't have to stop you.
Can your timeline handle short weeks? If you need to close by a hard date, build in extra room. If you don't, think about a longer escrow.
Can you live with the disruption? Showings and moving during your holidays, or house hunting and closing during everybody else's.
Will you keep your finances steady? Especially if you're buying.
If you can say yes, buying or selling during the holidays can work just fine. Sometimes it works out great. If you can't, January is right around the corner, and there's no shame in waiting for it.
Either way, make it an actual decision. Not a whim, and not because the house looked amazing with the lights on.
I'm not perfect, and I can't make the calendar any longer. But I can help you plan around it. If you're thinking about making a move this season, let's talk it through.
Brian Watters, Realtor | ByOurRep.com | DRE 01748905 | Realty Executives Platinum
(661) 400-3990 | Brian@ByOurRep.com
This post is general information based on my own experience. It's not tax, legal, or lending advice. Whether closing before year-end helps you depends on your own tax situation, so talk with a tax professional. Lender, escrow, and county office schedules vary around holidays, and your timelines depend on your contract and your lender. Holiday dates are for 2026.
