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QUINCY, ILL. -- During one of the coldest months of the year, you may be surprised to find the housing market is heating up.

Wintertime has blanketed the Quincy area with a surge in home sales.

"We've had a fabulous winter and I don't know why," Sherry Hills, a broker with Davis and Frese in Quincy said.

Hills says she's received more offers this December than any other December month in her 13 years on the job.

"If you're thinking about listing your house, it's a great time to put it on the market because there's less inventory. If someone has to buy within the next 2 or 3 months or the next 30 days, if there's only 10 houses to pick from and yours is one of the ten in their price range, then you have less competition," Hills said.

Hills says the best turnover in the Quincy area is with homes in the $100,000 to $150,000 range and it's never been easier to buy with such low interest rates.

"People can afford the bigger and better house now than before, when the interest rate was at 6 percent. Now it's at 2.85, 3 percent, 3.5 percent. It's just at an all-time low, which I thought I'd never see at this low of a point," Hills said. "if you're looking, you're going to get a good deal."

Hills says it's a risky game to wait much longer on even lower interest rates.

"Eventually, it's going to have to come back up. What goes down must come up," Hills said.

When it comes to image, winter time also helps spruce up the look of the home. You don't have to worry about your lawn. It's nicely manicured with snow. And the festive decorations or a fire in the fireplace will also make the home feel warm and inviting.