In an old saying, “Time Waits for no Man.” Well let’s convert this to the present real estate market; “Time waits for no man, woman, or holiday.” And it doesn’t wait for a season or a life event. Time just doesn’t wait.
The market may slow down during the holidays, but people are still transacting business. If you study the most motivated buyers and sellers, they are transacting business if not on a daily or weekly basis, at least a monthly basis. Why, because they have to buy and sell their inventory. This is how they make their money. Furthermore, they might sell a home for a distressed purpose or relocation.
So if your home is on the market during this season, and you want to sell it, here are some tips. And a reminder that these tips are for now, but will work in any season, holiday, or market.
- Holiday Decorations. If you’re thinking of decorating, it must be extremely detailed or don’t do it. Forget crowding your space with big trees, lots of presents, stockings from the mantle or stair railing, life sized displays, etc. All this will make your home look crowded and small.If you feel you must decorate, think in terms of staging; nothing too personal and not too cluttered. Set your dining room for a holiday dinner, but keep it secular. I don’t care about your religious or ethnic preferences, and your buyers won’t either. They will be looking from their backgrounds. If your decorations are too much toward one particular religion or ethnic display, it will confuse their minds and they won’t be able to visualize themselves here.
- Expect frustration and nuisance. Deep breath and count to ten. Ready? Like a boy scout, be prepared. Be realistic. There will be some buyers, serious or not, who, through no fault of their own, track rain, mud, or snow into your home. They may forget to close the door and your house will quickly cool down. All this will come to pass, but you are prepared.Remember, one of these trespassers might be a very motivated buyer looking for exactly what you have. You’re counting on this because you decided to sell this time of year, right? You will avoid the emotional roller coaster, because you will chalk this up as the inconvenience of necessity.Be prepared with a hand-held vacuum, a swifter mop, and some Windex and Pledge. You will find that luck, as well as patience, favor the prepared mind.
- Pre-set Your Specific “Not Showing” Dates. Do you feel like showing your home when you’re entertaining guests or opening gifts? If you know dates when you will be busy or entertaining, let your listing agent know. Have them write these in the listing remarks. This will save you a lot of interruptions and inconveniences.With so many houses on the market, buyer’s agents are looking for easy access. If your home is hard to get a date to show, they won’t show it. So be ready at any time except your block out dates and state them clearly right from the beginning.Buyers will understand if they know ahead of time and it will make it easier on everybody, especially you and your family. Just remember, have more “show” dates, than “no show” dates if you’re really serious about getting your house sold.
- What is “Sensory” Staging and How do You Keep it Safe. What smells better than apple pie, pumpkin pie, mulled cider, or freshly brewed coffee? Nothing! And nothing says “I’m home” any better or easier.Am I asking you to feed your buyers and their agents? No. Just make your home smell like you are home. Throw together something that smells good and bake it. Then put it away, unless you want to be in the restaurant business while trying to sell your home.Some people just don’t cook, you know who you are, and use candles instead. Just remember that if you are leaving the house when buyers come over or to do some shopping, do not leave the candles burning.Nothing is worse than a dark house on an overcast day. Keep the lights on and make sure the heat is at a comfortable level. If your home is dark and cold, the buyers will think the home isn’t bright enough and the heat doesn’t work.
- If it’s not a Necessity, Don’t Do It. This time of year, you will see that the active and qualified buyer’s pool turns out to be significantly smaller. It’s cold. It’s wet. It might be icy. Buyers know that many people take their homes off the market for the holidays. But, there are still buyers out there who are very serious about buying a home. They are qualified and they need a place to live.They also know that if you are still listed, you have to sell. So, expect some very low offers. It’s what they do. They inconvenience you, dirty your home, and then offer so much less than you need.Taking your home off the market, especially at this time of the year, is not that risky. So, if you really don’t have to sell right now, wait until January and then re-list it. You’ll be working with newer sets of buyers with renewed motivation. They won’t be pressured by the holiday hustle and bustle and neither will you.With this said, you have some benefits if you have your home on the market at this time of year. You may have a bigger pool of buyers come next year, but buyers at this time of year fall into only three categories.They are bottom feeders looking to get their low-ball offers accepted because you’re in a distressed situation. They really need a place to live, and they need it quickly. Or for tax purposes, they must close before the end of the year.With this tax consideration a motivation for your buyer, you can treat it as your own, turn the tables, distressed situation. You might be able to profit from their urgency instead of them from yours.
So, decide what you need and what you must do, be prepared, be patient, calm down and sell your home. Or take it off the market until the New Year. It’s your choice, but hopefully you’ll now have a better understanding of how to proceed.
Comments