Listing During the Thanksgiving Holiday

YOU'RE SELLING YOUR HOME OVER THANKSGIVING!? ARE YOU NUTS?

Well, as long as you're not the "Griswold Family Thanksgiving" you'll be a-ok, but if you are the family that puts up gobs and gobs of old, tattered, and/or outdated decor then perhaps decluttering is what you need to do and forgo the festive ornamentation.  Even though you may think your holiday spirit is fabulous, honestly no one wants to see little Jimmies turkey handprint or Becky's color outside the lines Mayflower Boat or Grandmas 92-year-old doilies in the shape of leaves during a showing.  I could go on with some of the sentimental family decor I have seen that completely ruins a perfectly fantastic showing, but I'll stop there. I think you get my meaning.

But if you are up on the trendy decorations....

It could actually be fun to show off your "tasteful, trendy, not overstated decorations" to the lucky few who have the opportunity to decide if your home is for them or not.  There's nothing better for a home seller than a home buyer leaving their house saying, "I love it, I love everything about it, let's put in an offer. " In the event your home doesn't suit the home buyer, it's always good to make them leave talking about something good like, "Hmmm, it's not the home for us, but wow they sure know how to decorate tastefully. Hey Suzie, I saw this home for sale on 8XX1 W 19th Ct, Spokane, WA and it was spectacular, you should see the decorations, I will send you the link to the home via text or email..." Next thing you know people are talking about what a great house it is simply because you took the time to properly prepare your home and list on a holiday.  

Another good reason to list on a holiday is the chance to tell your family members, roommates, or house guests to keep their areas clean.  You can say, "Hey! Clean your bathroom, we may have a showing today, no one wants to see your dirty clothes on the floor or toothpaste in the sink. Wash it down lazy bones." And Voila' you have a clean house for the holidays.  Also, you won't sound insane to that resistant person who just won't clean up after themselves.  You will have a legitimate reason to request everyone keep the house clean for the holiday. 

Listing during the holidays can be a bit stressful if you have family or friends coming into town and staying with you.  Don't be afraid to tell your listing agent that on specific days you would like to skip showings and restart them after a certain date.  The majority of buyers and buyer agents will totally respect your decision not to show on specific days.  Yes, there will be those agents that will try to push and grumble about not allowing the showings, but that's where a good listing agent will take over and protect/respect your family time and set those pushy agents straight by simply saying, "No there will be no showings on these days."

I hope this short blog has helped you to decide if you are the right candidate to list a home during the holidays.  In truth, there is no bad time to list a home.  When you are ready, your agent will be ready. However, it's important to listen to your agent.  Remember your agent knows the home buyer trends.  If they tell you that home buyers are flocking to buy and you have an opportunity to get multiple offers, "List Now", work faster to get that house ready. You don't want to miss the boat like so many people did this second half of 2022. Many thought the feeding frenzy for homes would never ebb.  Well, guess what? It did, and if you didn't listen to your agent and decided to wait, then just know that the market value you thought you would get in January or February is not likely compatible with the Current Market Value (CMV). Your Realtor is a Real Estate Professional for a reason. 

To end on a happy note here is a yummy recipe to try this Thanksgiving from a good friend of mine in the Real Estate Business.  Her recipe book can be found on Amazon Books under Angie Pardo DeArth "My Little Meatball a Collection of Recipes of Family and Friends":

Banana Nut Bread (For my favorite Nutty people listing their homes over the holidays)

1/2 cup butter, softened         1 cup sugar          2 eggs, slightly beaten       4 ripe bananas, smashed       1 teaspoon baking soda        2 cups flower       1 pinch of salt                    1/2 cup nuts, chopped - pecans or walnuts will work. MIX all ingredients together, spread in a greased loaf pan and bake 45 min at 375 F

Author Monica Biagi-Rodriguez, Synergy Properties Spokane Washington Realtor [email protected]