Holiday Season Showings

Now that the holiday season is fast approaching, many homebuyers and sellers are turning their attention to preparing for the seasonal round of family gatherings and festive celebrations. Real estate is often the furthest thing from their minds - but that may be a mistake that could even prove to be costly.

Buying or selling a home at this time of year has definite advantages. If you're a seller, this could be a time when you can out-compete other homes listed for sale, simply by being more accessible for viewings. Other vendors may get caught up in the demands of cooking, decorating, entertaining or shopping and decide that they either don't have the time or don't need the added stress of keeping their home in "showing" condition -- especially at a busy time of year when showings tend to slow down. They may even go so far as to instruct their salesperson not to accept appointments to view at this time of the year.

If you're a seller and you're thinking of limiting access to your home during the holiday season, you should first consider how this may cause you to miss out on some great opportunities. In today's ethnically diverse society, there are still a great many prospective buyers who are not celebrating the season and who want to carry on with their home search. There will be other buyers who have holidays at year-end and so they may actually have more time available to view homes. Also, with some homes not accepting viewing appointments during this period, your listing has less competition in attracting the buyers who are continuing to look for a home. And if your home is decorated for the holidays, that's just an added bonus. It probably looks at its most welcoming and prospective buyers will easily envision themselves living in its warm and inviting atmosphere.

Consider too that new technology and online marketing innovations such as virtual home tours can continue to promote your home throughout the busy holiday season with a minimum of disruption to your family's schedule. Evelina's website at www.vancouvereleganthomes.com even offers Personal Retriever™, an exclusive property search engine that emails potential buyers every time their home 'wish list' matches a property - including yours! Your Coldwell Banker sales professional can pre-qualify buyers before they view your property, so you'll know that when you allow viewers into your home, you're only dealing with serious buyers.

So think twice before you let up on your marketing efforts during the holidays. You could be rewarded with a new home to start off the New Year.

Return to Real Estate News home page