Keep property in the market over Christmas?

[ChalkyC]

We're not having much luck selling our (lovely) house - has been on the market now 9 weeks. Shall I take it off over Christmas and put it back in in the new year? I do hear rumours that people do windowshop over the Christmas break though - but these rumours may be spread by estate agents?!!

[Lilmisskittykat]

Same situation as you .. other half Is of the opinion of it's not on it can't sell.

But in the sam respect I'm not expecting to get any viewings over Christmas

[rallytog1]

I'd keep it on. We're trying to buy a house and are proceeding on a purchase but if it falls through for any reason (which is looking more likely) we'll be looking for another property urgently. If something's not on the market, people like me won't be able to buy it!

[ChalkyC]

Yep good points. I just don't want to get to January and it look like our house has been hanging around for ages. We can always take off and quickly put back on I suppose in the new year.

[Lilmisskittykat]

Mines been on since June.. don't worry it doesn't really mean anything.

[EssentialHummus]

I know this wasn't your question, but is it priced competitively or do things tend to take a long time to sell near you? How many viewings have you had?

I appreciate that people will not go house-hunting from 20 December to 2/3 Jan - except to look at RM while the MIL drones on - but IME if something is priced keenly it will sell year-round.

[goodbyeyellowbrickroad]

Like a PP we're in the process of buying but looks less and less likely to go ahead. I'm still on Rightmove every day in case something new hits the market. I'd keep your house listed

[ZoeZombie]

You can't take it off and put it back on again straight away AFAIK, Rightmove has a rule that it has to be off for 30 days before it will be considered a new listing. Double check but that's what our EA told me.

[wowfudge]

Keep.it on - we found our last place on RM between Christmas and New Year. If you are not getting viewings then it's priced too high unless you are in an unusually quiet market.

[ChalkyC]

Quiet market in a small village. Thing is if we can't sell it for the price recommended by the EA, we can't afford to buy anything where we want to move....

We'll keep it on and maybe think again in Jan/Feb.

[TheTombstonesMove]

We went for a viewing for our current house on 23rd December one year. House looked great being all decorated for Christmas which helped us make our decision I think.

If people are seriously looking, you might well get viewings close to Christmas (though whether you want to take them is another matter of course).

[Kirriemuir]

The two busiest days on rightmove every year are Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Ask you agent for a premium listing or featured property status for Christmas.

[Sometimespostingalwayslurking]

We are house hunting and I would not be impressed if all the houses went off the market during the Christmas period. This is actually when we have the time to scan the internet for properties!

[SingaSong12]

Can't you keep it on the market but tell EA days you definitely can't have viewings and if you have lots of visitors maybe say you'll need more notice for any that are booked.

[rallytog1]

I should also say that as a buyer I'm not put off by a house that's been on the market for a while. The house we're hopefully buying was on the market for a year. I can see why other people didn't want it, but equally it ticks every single one of our boxes and is within budget, and those are the 2 most important things. I guess buyers might be more inclined to make a cheeky offer if it's been on a while, but a serious buyer will generally be happy to pay what the house is actually worth, even if it takes a bit of negotiating to get you there.

[ChalkyC]

Rallytog - good reassurance re the length of time on the market. It's been such a strange 6 months post the brexit vote - there's a gorgeous house I've had my eye on since June, it hasn't sold and has just been withdrawn. I can't understand why (apart from price, but stuff is selling at that price) it hasn't been snapped up!

[WhatsGoingOnEh]

My last house was one that we kept seeing in Property adverts. After reading the details for the umpteenth time, we finally gave in, went to view it, and madea full-price offer there & then. :) (We'd avoided it previously because we thought it was a bit too far out of town for us. Turned out, it was 3 minutes; walk from where my then-fiance was currently living.)

My current house is one that I viewed on 28th December. Like a PP said, it looked especially lovely all decorated for Christmas, and it gave me a great, easy way to keep in touch with the owners, by dropping in a Christmas card after my offer was accepted.

Keep the faith! The right people will find you, if you let them.

GOOD LUCK!!!

[Herschellmum]

Keep it on, people look after Christmas and least it will be there ready. Plus you will have people like me who sold this week and are desperately looking for something to buy!

[Tatey25]

I'd keep it on because people have more free time over Christmas to surf Rightmove etc. At least if it's on you have a better chance of selling.
You could also conduct your own market research on right move to see how competitively priced your house is. You should take 3-5 samples of a property that are as identical and as close as possible to yours for a like for Luke comparison. Then take the selling price and divide by the total floor are to get a £/m2 rate to compare prices.

[Aftertheraincomesthesun]

We sold one of ours two days before Christmas. Just after Christmas is a prime time for house viewing. All those people cooped up together who realise they need more space..

[previously1474907171]

We have family who are looking for a house, they viewed last week on one they are interested in buying. I would be looking over Christmas if I wanted to move.