Conventional wisdom has it that The Holiday Season is not a good time to put your home on the market. After all, most people have their minds on family get-togethers, Thanksgiving meals, shopping for gifts, winter vacations – the last thing on their minds is buying a home. So why should you spend your holidays with the hassle of getting your home ready for sale. It just makes sense to wait until after the beginning of the new year when things pick up again. Right?
Actually, our experience in over 33 years in the San Antonio real estate market shows that in this case conventional wisdom is far from the reality. True, there may be fewer buyers looking between now and the new year, but those who are looking tend to be very serious (fewer “lookie loos”). This is also a time of the year when people often have out-of-town visitors, some of whom may be considering moving to our area, and plan to spend part of their visit exploring neighborhoods for a future house-hunting trip.
Since many sellers fall for the conventional wisdom (often promoted by real estate agents who don’t want to work as hard this time of the year), there are usually fewer new listings on the market during the Holidays. This translates into less competition for you.
As far as the hassle of preparing your home for showing, you are already doing that if you are decorating your home for the Holidays. If you are planning any outdoor lighting displays, think about how that “For Sale” sign in your yard would attract attention if it was outlined in lights! And your nicely decorated tree will make your home feel inviting to prospective buyers if it is one of the first things they see when they enter your home.
If you need to sell your home but have been advised to wait until the new year – think again. If you wait, you have potentially delayed your closing date by several weeks. When January comes around, wouldn’t you like to have a closing date already scheduled when your neighbor is just putting a sign in the yard?
If you like the idea of getting a jump on the competition, but have a few days when you don’t want your home shown over the Holidays, no problem. We can temporarily suspend showings anytime you ask us to. If getting your home sold is a priority, and you want to work with a REALTOR® who understands how to market your home during the Holiday Season, give me a call, e-mail me or visit my Web site.
Scott Myers
Broker/Owner of Century 21 Scott Myers
(210) 479-1222 or Toll-Free (888) 868-1222
email: Scott.Myers@Century21.com
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