Sell Your House Over Christmas

You may soon notice your neighbours taking down their “for sale” signs and putting up Christmas lights instead. The festive period is typically the time when buyers and sellers take a break and then regroup for the New Year. But there are several reasons why staying active during a seasonal slowdown can be to your advantage.

Buying a house around Christmas

Looking to selling your house over Christmas might be the last thing on your mind, and selling during winter has a bad reputation of being the worst time to list your property for sale. While the spring market certainly heats things up, if you don’t have the luxury of time, you may need to put your home up for sale. Doing so isn’t the worst move, though. Is Christmas a bad time to sell a house? Not in our books.

Fewer homes on the market

The number of homes for sale tends to decline over the Christmas period, which is why yours could easily stand apart from the crowd. While you may be tempted to pull the plug and do the same, with less competition, motivated buyers can start to look at your home seriously.

Christmas browsers are motivated

Over this period, you often find buyers with pressing needs, which is why they’re looking for a new home – and looking seriously. If buyers want to view properties in the cold and wet and leave their Christmas shopping to another time, they are clearly serious about finding the perfect home. Although you may have fewer potential buyers and fewer viewings, the buyers and viewings you do have will be serious.

The Boxing Day bounce

Boxing Day arrives and many people tend to spend a lot of time on their phones and tablets surfing the web. While some browse the Boxing Day sales, others begin to think about the future. Whether that be the consideration to downsize when the kids have flown the nest, upsize to meet the demands of their growing family or move closer to loved ones, it’s natural to start looking towards the New Year. Over Christmas, the family is all together at home, so discussions can be had about home goals.

As a result, there tends to be a significant uptick of people searching for properties in the festive period – so much so that this phenomenon has been referred to as The Boxing Day Bounce.

Make your property visible online

Because more people have free time to browse properties over the festive season, it’s essential that your home is visible on property portals between Christmas and New Year. While many agencies will be closed during this time, eager buyers can still book viewings for the New Year and whittle down the list of potential new homes.

Tips when selling your house over Christmas

If you’re keen to put your home on the market this winter, there are plenty of ways to grab a buyer’s attention. Some of our favourites include:

• Maximise the cosiness: There’s no point fighting the fact that winter is colder and darker. Make your home feel seasonally warm and cosy for an inviting feel.
• Watch the temperature: Make sure the heating is on before viewings to make for a comfortable walk-through.
• Grab their attention from the kerb: Keep lawns and front gardens neat and tidy. Clear leaves, debris, frost and snow from paths.
• Let in the light: In these darker days turn the lights on and pull the curtains back for viewings.
• Deck the halls: Find the balance between all-out festive décor and no decorations at all. The ones you do put up shouldn’t detract from the overall house.

Are you looking to sell your house over Christmas?

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