Should You Leave Your Clayton Home On The Market Over The Holidays?......Absolutely
Here's why. People are traveling, people are off work, people make decisions at the end of the year, people want their kids to start school at the beginning of the semester, companies make changes this time of year, houses look good (some) decorated.
Here's why. People are traveling, people are off work, people make decisions at the end of the year, people want their kids to start school at the beginning of the semester, companies make changes this time of year, houses look good (some) decorated.
Here is what has happened to my Clayton area listings this past week. One of my listings is vacant, the people live in Florida and they have a huge family get together every year the week-end before Christmas. the owner called and said there would be thirty people in the house and to maybe block showings for that day, unless they really had to see it, so we just left it as it was.....Guess what? Just as they would be sitting down for dinner, we got a showing appointment, now this house has had a decent amount of showings, but none in the last month.
Murphys Law! I called the showing service to see if they were only in town for the day and would they mind seeing the house with thirty people in it. Turns out the agent was sick and had to cancel anyway, so they re-scheduled for the next day. The buyer was from San Diego and was only in town for two days....still waiting to hear back.
And there is another showing tomorrow, two days before Christmas!
I have a listing in Wendell and again the home is vacant, so no issues there, Monday we had a second showing, Tuesday we had an offer, Wednesday we had a contract!
I have another listing in Clayton and it is priced right, looks great, well kept, has had numerous showings, but none in the last two months. The owner called me on Monday to say they were going to Florida for the holiday and would be gone a week or so. So we talked about the market and the lack of showings, and this owner is fully aware of what is happening in the real estate market and knows they just have to wait it out. That evening I get a showing request for Tuesday!!!! They liked the house, and we may be able to work with them.
Another listing I have in Clayton is a short sale with tenants in place, which is always hard because the showing service has to call the tenant and tenants have no skin in the game, in fact most of the time they really don't want the house to sell, so they can refuse showings and say they need more time. We have had one showing refused which was understandable as they wanted to see the house immediately. Yesterday we had our first showing.
So we have five showings, one house under contract, all in the week before Christmas. You have to leave your house on the market during the holidays!! Look, people understand that the house is not going to be pristine that there will be stuff out of place, they know that, if they're spending their holidays looking at houses they are in town to buy a house, and in today's Clayton real estate market you cannot afford to let a buyer get away.
One final point, this time last year I had a house listed and the owners took it off the market over the holidays, luckily we had put the house on our office Realtor tour so an agent who had buyers come into town remembered the house and asked if she could show it to her clients. My sellers were reluctant as they had guests staying, there was a Winnebago in the driveway ( nicer than Cousin Eddie's) and the house was a mess. I begged and they relented, had their guests help get the house in order and everyone jumped into the Winnebago during the showing. Buyers loved the house, made an offer, sellers accepted, my sellers then made an offer on a house they liked, builder accepted and on Christmas Eve we signed the contract.
As I'm writing this I just got a call from an agent who is sending over an offer on my Wendell Property! I kid you not!!!!
