5 Tips For Selling Your Home During The Holidays
Selling your home during the holidays is no easy task. The busyness of the holidays aside, the market has typically cooled a bit as most buyers have decided to wait until after the holidays before the continue to pursue their purchase. Nevertheless, Sometimes life just puts you in a position where you need to keep trying to sell, or put your home up for sale during the holiday season. And believe it or not, there are still buyers out during this time of year! maybe not as many, but they are out there. People always need to buy homes, and that's a fact.
As I mentioned in the video above, there are a few tips that can help you manage expectations for having your home listed for sale during the holiday season. It helps to know what to expect, so you can plan accordingly. Below I will go over the 5 tips I explain in the video, with a bit more detail.
Tip #1
Should you still decorate your home for the holidays? This is a question I get pretty well every year from clients who's homes are listed during the holiday season. My answer is always absolutely! I mean, what would the holidays be like, if you didn't celebrate them they way you like to celebrate them! The reality is, most buyers expect to see homes decorated for the holidays if they are shopping this time of year. Frankly, if you and your family always decorate, and then don't this year, I think there would be more than one disappointed person in your home, don't you? Another way to think about it, is this could very well be your last holiday season in this home. Might as well make the best of it, right!?
Having said that... you should certainly pull back a little if you typically go full on Griswold around the holidays. You know what I mean... When you light up your house, and you can see it from several blocks away. Ya, that is probably too much if you are trying to sell your home. You need to make sure that the decorations you choose to put up, don't take way from the buyers ability to view your home for the amazing house that it is. The decorations should be tasteful, and add to the appeal of your home, and be somewhat minimalistic. The buyer still needs to see the attributes of your home when they are viewing it.
Tip #2
Showings will likely be few and far between. Especially the closer to the holidays we get. Keeping your expectations about how many viewings you get is important. The reality is, buyer activity definitely slows this time of year, and you don't need to panic if you are not getting regular showing request's. Even in a year like we are currently seeing, where activity is much higher right now, compared to most years, you should still expect a significant decrease in activity until after the holidays have passed.
Tip #3
Accommodate as best you can! AS I mentioned above, buyer activity will be slower the closer to the holidays you get, and especially over the holidays. However, you will still likely get the odd showing here and there, and these viewing request's should absolutely be accommodated. The fact that a buyer is out shopping during this time of year, and requesting to view your home, could mean they are fairly serious about the house. I know it can be inconvenient, and maybe even frustrating to deal with showings while you get ready for the holidays, especially when you have had a showing or two come through and not make an offer, but it only takes one! ONE interested buyer to fall in love with your home, and need to make it theirs.
Tip #4
Expect any offers you receive to come in lower than you expected. This is completely normal, and almost expected for this time of year. Buyers who are out shopping at this time of year will likely expect that any sellers still trying to sell their home during this time of year, are likely highly motivated, or in higher need to sell. Even if this is not the case. They know that traffic is likely slower, and that they aren't in a competitive environment, and this will cause them to at least try with a lower offer compared to if they were out shopping in the middle of our spring market, which is typically a much more competitive market. This should be expected, and you should not get frustrated, and there is no need to be concerned. This is why it is important to have an experienced realtor negotiating on your behalf. They will know how to handle the lower offers, and get them back up to a more realistic price point without letting emotions run wild.
Tip #5
Clean up and put the holidays away as soon as possible once they are over. Once the holidays have passed, and you have finished celebrating, put everything away, and get your home looking normal again. I totally get it, the holidays are exhausting, and it's easy to get into "holiday mode" where you let things slide a bit more than you normally would, but after the holidays, buyers will start viewing again fairly soon after, and you want you home back to looking amazing. You can take my word for it, if we are at the end of January, or into February, and a buyers walks in to your home and see's evidence of Christmas morning still, they will be turned off right away. It will distract them from what they should be looking at. Your beautiful home, that should be their next home! You are far better off cleaning up as soon as you can.
I hope you have found this information helpful. If you have any questions, contact Corey Sylvester any time (780)221-3088.
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