If you are like most agents, you may be wishing for ways to make the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day more productive. Listings, even in a tight sellers' market, tend to dry up, mainly due to the commonly-held belief by sellers that no one wants to shop for a home during the holidays. But don't slow down - keep talking to those FSBOs and expireds!

Not only can the holidays be a great time to sell, it can also be a perfect time for sellers to negotiate their best deals.

According to Jinnie "Real Estate" Ling, a top producer for Dallas-based Virginia Cook Realtors, the holidays are one of the best times of the year. "Couples are off from work, and families are together, so it is a great time for buyers to look," says Ling. "I hold more open houses, and show more buyers homes at this time of the year than any other."

L.Lennox Scott, president of Pacific Northwest-based John L. Scott Realtors, says that homeowners wonder if they should skip the holidays and wait until the first of the year. "It’s true that February and March produce the highest amount of home sales, but when you compare the percentage of sales to the total number of new properties that come onto the market, November and December have the best exposure ratio of any other months of the year," says Scott.

Realtors understand the importance of "new on the market" which Scott says refers only to the first thirty days that a home is on the market. New properties receive the most exposure during the first thirty days, so there is a greater chance of making a sale, explains Scott. "The real estate industry measures home sales throughout the year and one of the ways they do this is by using an indicator that measures the percentage of sales to the total number of new properties on the market. November and December have an indicator that is 75% higher than the rest of the year. In other words, these two months have the highest amount of sales relative to the number of new homes that are listed on the market."

Translation for sellers? If they list their home during November or December, they have a much greater potential for exposure within the first thirty days, than they do during the rest of the year.

According to Scott, a large part of what contributes to this high rate of exposure is that there are fewer homes listed during November and December, resulting in fewer “new on the market” properties. In other words, there is not as much competition for sales, so a seller's home has the potential to receive much more exposure than it would during the spring and summer months when there are significantly more homes on the market.

Other considerations that you might share with your seller are:

Your buyer may be motivated to buy now.

People buy homes throughout the year for a variety of reasons, but only a few buyers can shop for a home when they please. Families with children may be more interested in moving during the summer when schools are out, but what about transferees? They need to be on the job and can't wait another six months to move. They also want to get their children into classes before the spring semester starts and will be highly motivated to close quickly. People who are shopping for homes in the winter tend to be serious buyers.

Your buyer may not be a typical "family."

When sellers tend to think of buyers, they often conjure the image of the nuclear family - dad, mom, and a boy and a girl, but real buyers couldn't be more different, and there is a high degree of probability that the buyer(s) won't be anything like the sellers. Non-traditional families and singles are becoming the demographic norm for homebuyers. For example, single homebuyers made up 32.2 percent of buyers in 1999, according to a survey by Chicago Title Company. Singles, couples, and empty-nesters without children will often wait until schools are in session to shop for a home simply so they won't have as much competition.

Interest rates have dropped.

The slowing economy has made it more favorable for buyers to find a great rate on mortgage loans, which will almost surely go up in price again after the election, inauguration and when the spring homebuying season begins again.

It won't sell off the market.

Sellers who want to temporarily take their homes off the market won't save time or money, they will simply postpone their own dreams. Remind them that should you bring them a contract, that they can negotiate terms for their own convenience if they don't want to move during the holidays.

Services are easier to obtain.

Try getting a top mover, remodeling contractor or landscaper during the spring months. They turn away work then, but they are usually prepared to take on new customers during the winter months. That's the time to get many projects done, including preparing a home for sale.

Last, use the holiday spirit to help sell your home.

If you decorate your home for family and guests, why not for buyers, too? When will it be more charming and inviting? Buyers who are in the holiday spirit can readily picture their own families enjoying themselves in their beautiful new home.

Published: November 29, 2000

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.