Should you take your home off the market over Christmas?
If your home isn’t sold by the end of November, it’s incredibly unlikely you’ll be moving by Christmas.
But, if you are keen to sell your property, you could be missing a trick if you take it off the market until the New Year.
More and more people search online for property between Christmas and New Year
Although Christmas can be hectic, most of us do enjoy some extra free time over the festive period and, rather than taking a Boxing Day dip in the sea, many of us go online to look for our next property.
Did you know the number of people visiting Rightmove soars over the Festive period?
Last Christmas, Rightmove boasted it had over 25 million page views on Boxing Day alone and that property on the site received over 40 million views between Christmas and New Year!
Afraid prospective buyers will interrupt your Christmas?
One of the reasons people take their homes off the market is because they don’t want their festive fun interrupted by property viewings.
If this is how you feel, by all means let your estate agent know the days and times when you don’t want viewings.
Providing your property is still being marketed online, prospective buyers will be able to view your property details and will be happy to wait for a convenient viewing time.
A good estate agent will know when you’re happy to hold viewings – because they will have asked you – and they’ll make sure prospective buyers are aware of your availability.
Will anyone want to view my property over Christmas?
Over Christmas, the number of people wanting to view properties does drop significantly – but people still want to see what’s available and plan viewings for the New Year.
So, although you may not have queues of people wanting to come around for a look, your property will still benefit from being marketed professionally online.
Will my estate agent accompany viewings over Christmas and New Year?
Contrary to popular belief, estate agents are human too and, like you, we enjoy spending time with our families over Christmas.
Most traditional estate agents will shut for a few days over Christmas and New Year but will be happy to accompany viewings on the days they are open.
Online agents who don’t accompany viewings may try and persuade you to host viewings alone over Christmas – be firm and refuse any requests that don’t suit you and your family.
Not everyone wants to visit Santa’s Grotto!
If you are happy to arrange viewings whilst your Christmas tree and decorations are still up, try not to let your festive displays detract from the space available in your property.
If you want a 6ft Christmas tree and life-size nativity scene in every room, it might be better to delay viewings until after Twelfth Night when your home is back to “normal.”
It’s really a matter of choice
At Sims Williams, we appreciate all our clients are different.
We don’t try to persuade or dissuade people to stay on the market at Christmas or wait until the New Year – that’s your choice.
Our role is to respect your wishes and make sure we’ve put everything in place to sell your home quickly the minute you give us the go ahead.
As one of the leading independent estate agents in Chichester, Bognor Regis, Walberton and Arundel, we have unbeatable local knowledge to help you sell your property and enjoy a great start to 2020.
Call or email today for a free, no obligation market valuation of your property.