Keeping Current Matters recently published a post on their blog (Click Here) that identified 6 reasons the holidays are a great time to sell your home:
1. Relocation buyers are out there. Companies are not concerned with holiday time and if the buyers have kids, they want them to get into school after the holidays.
2. Purchasers that are looking for a home during the holidays are serious buyers and are ready to buy.
3. You can restrict the showings on your home to the times you want it shown. You will remain in control.
4. Homes show better when decorated for the holidays.
5. There is less competition for you as a seller right now.
6. The supply of listings increases substantially after the holidays. Also, in many parts of the country, new construction will make a comeback in 2016. This will lessen the demand for your house.
Darin Stenvers, Manager of our JLS Bellingham office, gave us a list of 8 reasons he thinks the holidays are a great time to increase your business.
“I had a lot of “salesman of the month” awards for November through March when I was selling,” he said. “I think the holidays are a great time to work on growing your business.”
Here are his tips:
- I used the holidays as a great excuse find my friends and past clients. One year I bought a bunch of holiday wreaths (for $5) from a local charity and delivered them to my A-list Sphere clients.
- I would try to find my clients working on their holiday decorations on a weekend and stop by to chat. (You might want to wear some casual clothes just in case you decide to pitch in and help!)
- When talking to a seller about the best time to list, I would point out that there was less inventory in the winter, thus a better chance a buyer would want to see their home.
- Many homes look better in the winter. Snow can really transform a home. Also, if you’ve done your fall yard clean up, the yard could look like less maintenance during the winter.
- The interior of most homes are decorated for the holidays and look better than they normally do. Buyers get a more “homey and warm” feeling when they enter the home for the first time. I personally feel that families are together more when they are limited to less outdoor sports or activities so that homes are staged better.
- When the days are shorter buyers like to see their home in the daylight, so many showings happen when they are at work.
- In January, I would deliver copies of the final HUD1 statements to everyone who bought or sold with me the previous year.
- And perhaps the biggest reason I was so successful during the holidays? I knew I needed more money to pay for holiday spending and taxes!
Happy Selling!
