5 Tips to Navigating the Real Estate Market This Holiday Season
The residential real estate market generally slows down during the holiday season with fewer property showings between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.
In previous years, many real estate professionals advised sellers to take their homes off the market during this slower time and to put them back on in mid-January when activity normally resumes. However, in today’s shifting real estate market where buyers have the upper hand, this holiday season is a very different story.
Many real estate professionals have already adjusted their holiday schedules and travel plans to be available for property showings, knowing that a buyer looking during this time is most likely serious. And that buyer might just be “the one.” In today’s real estate environment, the notion of agents having days off and downtime during the holidays is long gone. Every day is crucial.
Here are five tips for agents to help navigate the market this holiday season.
- Keep Listing on the Market. Consider keeping your property listing on the market over the holidays this year. You never know when a buyer might decide to look. Every agent is competing for buyers today, and it would be a huge upset if you took the apartment off the market and a similar property went into contract during that time. You never know if/when the next buyer might come along.
- Be Accessible. Agents should be extremely accessible this holiday season. That means, be available for showings any day of the week to accommodate a buyer’s schedule. More and more listings have open access to accommodate buyer’s needs, so be prepared to show earlier in the mornings or later in the evenings if requested. Buyers are quick to move on to the next property if they are denied access. Since inventory is on the rise, buyers may not have time to see everything before making a decision.
- Be Flexible. It’s imperative to be flexible with your schedule. Yes, that might mean potential property showings on Saturday AND Sunday and later in the evenings if your seller is comfortable with it. Saturday’s used to be considered an agent’s day off during the week, but if a buyer wants to see a property on a Saturday, show it! Do not deny showings at random times.
- Be Local. Agents that have a partner or are part of a larger team should plan to have one team member stay local this holiday season for potential showings. Many agents that would normally take out-of-state trips during this time have opted to celebrate the holidays at home to be available to show in case of inquiries come in.
- Prepare Sellers. In the past, sellers always looked at the holidays as time off for them as well, and from having to keep their home clean and show ready. This year is different. Agents should prepare their sellers to be ready for possible showings over the holidays, advise them to keep their homes clean and be ready for showings even on odd days and during odd hours.
Author Bios
Louisa Gillen and Chris Palminteri are Co-founders of The SIMPLE Real Estate Co. (“SIMPLE”), the first residential real estate brokerage firm designed specifically for sellers. Gillen and Palminteri founded SIMPLE to thrust the stale, outdated brokerage model into the future by introducing a modern and honest approach to the sales process.
SIMPLE’s forward-thinking model is financially smart, fully transparent and service driven. For more information, visit www.thesimplerealestate.com.
