Dear Heather,

December is here. I am just about to put my property on the market. Shall I wait until after Christmas? Not many people look over Christmas time do they?

Selling over Christmas

Dear Selling over Christmas,

Whilst it’s true that people looking are less, the real buyers are still looking. Consider the following advantages for listing property during the holidays:

1. Internet searches during the holidays surge

Many homebuyers devote a larger portion of their house-hunting time during the holidays to searching online. The added convenience of whittling down a list of preferred houses from the coziness of the buyer’s home, makes real estate website traffic kick up significantly. To have your home discovered during this timeframe, it must be on the market. Homes advertised correctly online during this time, get significantly more exposure than the average home. Those sellers that are taking a break from being on the market are as good as non-existent to the online buyer.

2. Motivated buyers are still looking

Those homebuyers who remain active in their searches are typically extremely motivated buyers; they’re willing to alter their holiday schedules to view a potential property. These are the kinds of buyers that house sellers dream about. They are ready to move and are willing to spend sensible money to relieve their anxiousness about getting on with the home-buying process as quickly as possible.

3. Seller competition is lighter during the holidays

Some home sellers are still reluctant to list their homes during the holidays. This can create a shortage of inventory and is better for the seller in many cases. The home seller who is on the market with very few comparable homes can often stick with the price they’re hoping to get. Without a reasonable number of similar, competitive listings for buyers to visit, the seller is in a unique position of power because of the scarcity of comparable homes at that time.

4. You are in control of the communications time frame

Who says a home seller has to receive calls 24/7? Every realtor/client relationship is different. You, as the client, can manage how you communicate together. If you’d like to only receive showing requests via e-mail or text, so be it. If you want your realtor to only call between 3pm and 5pm, he or she can do that. As long as you are reasonable about having a regular communication check-in with your realtor, the way you communicate can be as unique as you’d like.

5. You can have a showing schedule

Showings don’t have to happen at all hours of the day. While the more your home is available, the better it is for buyers, it’s also understandable to have a limited schedule during the holidays. If every other day between noon and 3.30pm is the only time you’d like buyers to come through your house, that can be arranged. If yoga class on Tuesday makes it a difficult day to get the house prepared, block out Tuesday as part of the official showing schedule. It will help buyers’ schedule showings and keep you focused on enjoying your own personal time.

6. You can create blackout dates

When your in-laws are coming to visit for a week, let your realtor know that the entire period is off-limits. Unless a truly serious buyer has come in, they need to schedule all showings the prior week or the week afterward. The bonus with this strategy is that your home is still being advertised online. While it might not be available to see in person that particular week, those holiday home buyers will still see the listing and understand that it will be available soon. Meanwhile, your family is relaxing at home as if it were just a regular holiday season.

7. International buyers

These buyers don’t always observe the same calendar of events as we do. However, many of them take advantage of our nice weather and are in Bermuda over the holidays. We’ve seen significant upticks in buyer showings and home sales around holiday periods that traditionally were unofficial vacation periods for the real estate industry. When the foreign buyer comes to house hunt, it pays to make your house available for viewing.

8. Be proactive — take control of your holiday home listing

Selling your home during the holidays can actually be a well-managed, stress-free experience if you find the right realtor and take the time to communicate and arrange a realistic set of ground rules and boundaries that you are both comfortable with.

9. Meanwhile, decorate! Go all out!

Most home buyers enjoy the holidays, and love to see a home well decorated for Christmas; it adds warmth and friendliness. If you can constrain yourself a bit and keep your Christmas tree from looking like a spinning Wal-Mart rack, you’ll certainly impress your home buyers a bit more. But, if you really feel the need, just do it. Homebuyers like the idea of a home looking like it fits into a neighbourhood and a little bit of personality is nothing to be afraid of. The smell of baking cookies or fresh coffee spells ‘home’ in a buyer’s mind.