As the summer begins to tease us with signs of fading out–the sky is overcast and the rain is supposed to continue for the next week or so, I find myself thinking about the end of the year. Specifically, I think about how the older realtors always talk about the “slow months” –November through January.

Now, I’m no old hand, but I’m not that new and I can tell you that last Halloween through New Year’s was all work for me in the real estate business.

As the story goes, people stop buying or selling houses because the holidays just creep up on them and they get distracted. The common wisdom says that the market slows down after the summer and then maybe you may be able to negotiate a better deal during the holidays and Christmas. But that has not been the case the last two years.

If you look at previous years (see below), you will see that this is generally true; especially around Thanksgiving. In the first chart below you will see the last nine years. Some of them drop off drastically, but come back around February. In the second chart you will see 2004 and 2005 compared to 2010 and 2011. In ’10 and ’11 there was a little drop around November, but then we just picked right up again.

In other words, don’t assume that the end of the year is going to be slow!

The take away?

First: Don’t assume the end of the year is going to be slow. Whether you are selling or buying, take advantage of the active market.

Second, it’s been hectic the last two years. We have every reason to believe it’s going to be hectic this year, too.

And by the way, if you’re thinking to short sale, you’re running out of time if you want to avoid the tax repercussions of selling your home short. Please see this article and learn how the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act allows you to avoid paying taxes on mortgage debt forgiven by your lender. This act runs out at the end of this year.