Do home sales pick up in January?

Supposedly, home sales pretty much dry up around the holidays then kick back in to gear at the start of the new year.  But take at look at these Gig Harbor home sales.  I'm going to run a 3 month consecutive to make the numbers make a bit more sense.  In December of 2005, 62 homes sold in Gig Harbor.  In January of ‘06, 34 homes sold, and 48 sold in Feb of ‘06.  December of ‘06 saw 53 homes sell in Gig Harbor, followed by 24 in January of ‘07 and 54 in Feb of ‘07.

One thing to keep in mind with these numbers is that many of the homes sold in December probably were written under contract in October or November.  Homes sold in January were written up end of November or December, most likely, and February home sales were probably seen by the buyers around Christmas time or early in the new year. 

So what's my point?  Homes sell year round.  Buyers are in town at odd times of the year.  What's the best time to put your home on the market?  About 3-4 months before you want to be moved (taking into account our average days on market).  Time of year means very little to me.  The timing has to make sense to the seller.