Should We Take Our Home Off the Market for the Holidays?

The Fall real estate market goes by quickly.  In no time it seems we’re bumping up against the holidays.  Many home sellers wonder – should we take our home off the market for the holidays?

There isn’t a quick and easy answer to this question.  There are definite advantages to keeping your house on the market over the holidays but there are some benefits to taking it off the market too.  Everyone’s situation is different.  While it’s very possible that your home will sell over the holidays you may instead choose to give yourself the gift of minimized stress and uninterrupted holidays.  Here are some of the things to think about.

Benefits of Keeping Your House on the Market Over the Holidays

Less competition.  Since many sellers takes their homes off the market and others wait until after the holidays to list their house for sale, there are fewer homes for sale between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  That increases the odds that you’ll sell – a lot of inventory gets soaked up over the winter.  Even now, in early November, fewer sellers are listing their homes for sale and properties that have been on the market for months – in some cases over a year – are finally selling.

There are buyers out there.  Buyers are always coming into the market.  People relocate for work or a myriad of other reasons.  Sellers get an offer on their own house for sale and immediately become much more motivated.  Whatever the reason, there are always homebuyers looking.

Holiday home buyers are serious. If buyers are going to the trouble of seeing properties with the holidays drawing close it’s likely that they’re motivated.  Better to have a motivated buyer with a reason to buy than larger numbers of buyers just getting their feet wet.

You can’t win if you don’t play.  That’s a slogan for buying lottery tickets but it applies to selling your home too.  The perfect buyer for your home may be in town this weekend.  If you’re not on the market they won’t be buying your property.  Relocating buyers or employees being transferred to the Cambridge area aren’t browsing – they’re buying.

Reasons to Take Your Home Off the Market Over the Holidays

If you’re getting fewer buyers through your home, if the numbers of requests to show your property are dwindling, it may be time to give your home a break.  Take it off the market for a few weeks, or even a few months, and bring it on fresh in the spring.

If you’re sick and tired of keeping your house picked up and show ready, give yourself a break.  Enjoy the holidays without interruptions and without the inconvenience of getting ready for showings.

Reset the clock.  If your property is off the market long enough you’ll be able to reset the days on market tally.  There’s something to be said for resetting the days on market.  Even though homes are not perishable items it sometimes seems that buyers think they are given their sensitivity to the DOM (days on market) number.  Let those days pile up and buyers and agents start questioning what’s wrong with your property.  Get a fresh start by resetting the clock.  Make sure you ask your current agent what’s needed to ensure that you come  back on the market with “zero” days on market.

You and your agent will want to decide if you should take your home off the market for the holidays.  Remember – houses and condos do sell over the holidays.  If you’re hoping your home is one of them, give me a call and we can make a plan.

Categories: Seller Info

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 10:49 pm and is filed under Seller Info. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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