According to HGTV’s “Top 10 Tips for Selling Your Home During the Holidays”
The holiday season runs from November (Halloween) to January (New Year) is often considered the worst time to list a home on the market. If you think about it, many prospective buyers are busy shopping for other things like Christmas gifts and travel accommodations. From an analytics standpoint, we always see a dip in web traffic through this time of year. The season does have it’s advantages: holiday buyers tend to be more serious with higher intent. Especially when our market is so heavily influenced by sessional residents that may be shopping for homes now before coming in January.
The first step is finding the right decorations that aren’t going to cover the features of the home but rather extenuate them. We do not want to scare prospective buyers with a giant snowman in the front yard.
The Second step in any transaction of this magnitude is hiring a reputable real estate agent. That means someone who will work hard for you. I think we can all agree on what broker to use. You can look at our agent roster here! Having a professional in your corner will ease your stress and give you more time to enjoy the season.
The Third step is pricing to sell. “No matter what time of year, a home that’s priced low for the market will make buyers feel merry. Rather than gradually making small price reductions, many real estate agents advise sellers to slash their prices before putting a home on the market.” – HGTV
The Fourth step is taking amazing real estate photos! Photos should be done before the decorations go up and the guests arrive. Although, I know a few photographers that will love some Christmas cookies!
The Fifth step, while we are talking about guests, we want to make sure they keep rooms and the home tidy for the showings you get. When you do receive a showing in this time frame, it is essential that they can see the home as they are most likely only in town for a few days.
The Sixth step, this is an important step, do not panic if you do not get as many showings as you thought you might. As we mentioned before, everything slows down for this time of year.
The Seventh step, Relax and enjoy the holidays! Take a moment to remind yourself that if you don't sell now, there's always next year, which, luckily, is only a few days away.