14/10/2022
🎄Christmas is only 72 days away!! I bet that got your attention! 😳 And I know, I know… nobody wants to think about Christmas yet! We’ve got Halloween first and we shouldn’t talk about it until that’s out of the way at least, surely? 🎃 Well, I’m starting to think about it already… I’ve started putting money aside for presents 💰, the choir I run has started practising Christmas songs 🎶, I’m making all sorts of festive plans for that time of year 🥂 and, as an estate agent, I’m starting to get some of my sellers prepared to launch their home on Boxing Day 🏡. Yes, if you’re thinking of selling your home in the near(ish) future, you should definitely be aware of the Christmas countdown! 🧑🎄
Some of you may already know, from reading one of my previous blogs, that Boxing Day is the kick off to the “New Year, New Home” house-buying season, and this year will be no different! The busiest period of the year, every year, is that week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, with Rightmove recording well over 51 MILLION visits to the site during this period in 2020, and a 23% uplift on this last year! 🤯
So why am I talking to you about this now? Well, if you are a seller who’s thinking of taking full advantage of this steep rise in demand, now is the time to start talking about it and planning! And here are 3 really amazing reasons as to why:
💻 Do the prep now, sell when you’re ready! When you’re putting your house on the market, there are lots of steps to take before it actually launches. You’ve got to have agents round to provide marketing advice, you’ll then choose which agent you want to use and instruct them, they’ll need to get photos, floorplan and a video (if they’re good) done of your home and you’ll then need to finalise the details. You can do all of this, and then have your home ready for launch on Boxing Day - remember, viewings won’t start until a week or two into the New Year so you’ll have time to get your house ready for viewings after a busy Christmas!
📸 Get your photos taken before you put up your decorations 🎄 Anything that could date your listing online is a big no-no! Snow in a photo when it’s up for sale in May, for example, immediately tells people you’ve been on the market for a long time! Christmas decorations do exactly the same thing. This then gives you flexibility to list your property whenever is right for you. If you want it to launch on Boxing Day, great! But if something delays you for any reason, you don’t want to look dated and this gives you that flexibility.
💪 Become a “power-buyer”! Get yourself in the best position possible to buy your next home when the right one comes up. Lots of people decide they’re going to wait till after Christmas to get their home on the market as they don’t want the hassle during the festive season (not understanding that there doesn’t have to be hassle if you’re prepared!). This means that there’ll be a surge in properties hitting the market towards the end of January / start of February. So get ahead of the curve, find yourself a buyer before then and be in a strong position when you find your next home.
Remember, getting your home ready to sell does not mean viewings will start next week - it’s like getting your Christmas shopping done early… a huge tick ✅ off your list and allows you time to focus on the celebrations in the build up to the big day without anything hanging over your head (apart from maybe some Mistletoe 😉)
It’s also really important to understand right now that buyer demand is still very much out there! Yes, interest rates have gone up but people still want and need to move… they may have to readjust their expectations as to what they can afford to buy, but they’re still moving!
So, if you’re thinking about moving, drop me a DM and we can create a plan together for a fantastic launch of your home and you can then focus on what turkey to buy 🦃
