Real Estate In The Christmas Season

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Everything is better during Christmas. It is also hard to not get lost is all the hustle of trying to get things done, get the shopping done and so on.

Today I want to discuss how Christmas time effects the real estate market. Some of the effects are good and some are negative, but in this case even the negative has some good in it.

Against my natural instinct I am going to start with the negative.

The Market Slows Down

When considering the financial side of this effect this is definitely negative, but I think for one time a year this is a positive. With a lower amount of transactions and clients, agents have a little more time for family.

All agents know that they have to budget their income for the winter time. This means that you have money saved up for the slower months and you can relax a little and enjoy the slowness of the Christmas season.

The slower real estate market can also be a benefit for Buyers and Sellers. Slowing down can give both buyers and sellers a chance to settle down and relax. This will give you a chance to reset and let go of any stress or frustration you may have built up looking for a home or trying to sell your home.

Whatever side of Real Estate you find yourself take the slowing down of the market during the Christmas season to relax, spend time with friends and family and reset.

Showing Decorated Homes

One thing I really appreciate during the Christmas season is all the Christmas decoration. Homes are lighted up really nice and decorated with snowmen and Santa Claus and reindeer.

I appreciate a well decorated home especially when it is Christmas time. Some homes that I go through are blank canvases and sometimes that is helpful for the buyers to place their own furniture in the home, but I find that showings go much better when the home has nice Christmas decorations up.

Not everyone likes Christmas decorations as much as I do, so if you are selling your home during the Christmas season try not to overdo it. You probably don’t want to put up the fifteen foot tall Santa in the front yard or put up fifty strands of lights. Try to keep it simple and tasteful.

Homes Smell Like Baked Goods

This is without a doubt my favorite thing about Christmas, all the homemade baked goods! My wife makes the best cutout cookies that are so soft they melt in your mouth. It reminds me of going to my Great Grandma’s house during the Christmas season. She always had a plate full of cookies sitting on the table waiting for us when we arrived, and she would always send us home with a plate of cookies too.

If I walk into a home that smells like fresh baked cookies, I immediately remember all the great times we had at my Great Grandma’s house when I was a kid. Buyers are the same way.

There are many studies that prove that the pleasant smell of a home can improve the chances of selling your home. I can tell you that I have been on showings where the unpleasant smell of the home has lost the sale of the home.

Use Christmas time as an excuse to make your home smell great and get an offer on the table for Christmas. If you want other tips for selling your home check out my article “How To Sell Your Home FAST“.

The Christmas season is a wonderful time of the year! I try to look for the good in things all year long but especially this time of the year.

I hope you have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!