Winter has traditionally been the slowest season for the housing market for years, if not decades.

But it’s becoming crystal clear that’s not the way the winter market of 2021 is going at all. The coronavirus pandemic is still going strong, fundamentally changing how, when and where buyers are looking.

Mortgage rates are still remarkably low, and tantalizing. Buyers are absolutely clamoring for homes. If you list your home while rates are still unbelievably low, you may have an easier time getting a quick offer. In short, this winter could be an excellent time to sell a home.

With most health experts predicting an effective vaccine in the next year, mortgage rates may soon be on the rise again. That means motivated buyers may be pressing to find a home sooner rather than later.

If things improve on the pandemic front, there could be an uptick in listings later in the year. Sellers might have an easier time if their listings are one of only a few in the neighborhood, instead of one of many.

As the holidays fade in the rearview, and we start to look for signs of spring, most kids are still attending school from home, and millions of grown-ups are working remotely.

Covid-19 created buyers purely in the market because they're realizing their space is no longer big enough – even more so when temperatures drop.

That kind of demand likely won’t wane anytime soon, especially if it looks like their companies will allow working from home into the spring and beyond. Those who can may continue to shop for larger homes farther outside cities – great news for ex-urban and rural sellers.

The annual sales pace swelled to 5.88 million in September, up an astonishing 26.7% from a year earlier. The median existing-home price was $313,000, 15.5% more than the October 2019 and the 104th straight month with year-over-year gains.

Even if overall activity slows, demand is still so heated, experts say price growth will likely continue.

Listing prices by December 2020 logged double-digit growth, up 12.9% year-over-year, remaining on the market for just 21 days – an all-time low.