Things seemed to have slowed to a halt - our last showing was right before Thanksgiving. (Ug!) I've had a couple of walk-by doorbell ringers asking the price of the house, but no showings since Thanksgiving. When does it usually pick back up? After Christmas or after New Years??

Thanks,
Shelly

I wish I knew the answer to that question...over 8 months on the market. I was away for a 7 or 8 days in the middle of the month and had a showing during that time...I had one the day before Thanksgiving, but in the 8+ months we have been on the market, we have only had about 8 showings total. I have never seen such a slow slow market in my entire adult life.

We listed our old house a year ago, literally 2 weeks before Christmas. We knew that we wouldn't get any traffic until after the holiday but wanted to get paperwork, photos, etc out of the way.

Sure enough, we had our first showing on January 10th. We had just a handful of showings in January but then in February it picked up and we got a contract in late March.

Headlines in our local paper today "Home Sellers pray for a miracle"....

Don't ask me I have been showing throughout the holidays and have had quite a few showings. No offers yet but the showings are a positive thing on what's to come.

I know there are different seasons for home buying as well as home selling. Where I live, many people come home for the holidays - so I pick up my advertising to ensure visitors are aware of a home on the market. I believe "Up North" where winter bares its head, if the weather is OK - showings shouldn't stop just because of the holidays. If you are working with a Realtor(r), he or she would have briefed you on the showing and market trends by watching sales from previous years. You could do the same by going into the TaxRolls for your city/county and seeing when sales took place (subtract up to 60 days and that will give you an indicator of when the home was contracted for sale - kind of a date of showing outline). Good luck in selling - If you need me to refer you to a Realtor(r) (that's if you're not currently working with a Realtor) in your area - let me know. I'm a member of the Women's Council of Realtors and we have an outstanding referral network. Good Luck!

Much depends upon the real estate market. If it's a buyers market, houses tend not to move so quickly. Too, the price range and the neighborhood are factors. Some make the mistake of making too many pricey improvements that makes price too high for the neighborhood. Some fail to make enough improvements to keep properties competitive

One thing that is helpful is to know your competition. What are comparable properties selling for and are they moving? If there are a lot of comparable properties in your price range, then your property needs to stand out.

Most realtors tend to report that activity slows during the holidays because people have other priorities. Activity should pick up after the 1st of the year, as people begin to look for relocation after school is out.

Post some pictures here of interior and exterior for input which might be helpful for helping to get your house sold.

Holidays or not showings matter depending on where in the country you are and how the market is. In Florida I have had 2 new construction homes for sale for 11 months with about 8 showings. I have had another more expensive home built in 91' for sale 8 months with 20-25 showings. 3 walk backs before thanksgiving and then a low ball offer just before Christmas demanding a closing by 1/8!

Pricing in the market may or may not help, Florida is one example. Built and valued at $360K, bought for $280K and I'll give someone a 42in Plasma TV if they would take it for $250K! I have had it at $250K with $2K cash bonus and only 1 showing.

It's a sign of the times, probably for 2 more years. Suck it up and pray for a miracle, that's what I do every night.