Open Houses on Easter Sunday

The Case For -- and Against

In a microcosm, the considerations for doing an open house on Easter Sunday are the same as for deciding whether to list a home during a traditionally slow time of the year (like around the holidays).

Here's how the arguments shape up:

Pros:

--Not much competition from other open houses, so the ones that are open stand out more.
--Quality over quantity: fewer Buyers are out on Easter Sunday, but the ones who are, are disproportionately serious, motivated, etc.
--The same things that make a home welcoming for company ("dressed up," nice smells, seasonal touches) impress Buyers, too.

Cons:

--Fewer open houses on Easter Sunday, which (further) depresses traffic (like car dealerships that cluster in the same area, having lots of nearby open houses helps attract Buyers).
--Intrusion on family time, privacy. Opening one's home to the public -- and doing all the cleaning and prep necessary ahead of that -- isn't necessarily how people want to spend Easter (on the plus side, it's a lot easier to kill a few hours away from home now than in frigid December).

In addition to the foregoing, one other factor that's relevant, at least at the margin: real estate offices are all closed.

That means Realtors won't be able to set up any showings to take their Buyers through, people lost on the way to an open can't call to get directions, etc.

So, which way do the foregoing factors tilt?

For most Sellers (and their Realtors), probably against.

That's especially the case given that there's an ideal day to hold an open house so close to Easter Sunday: one week later, when there's predictably a nice pop of pent-up Spring demand.

Motivated Buyers

Return of the Motivated . . . Buyer??

For as long as anyone can remember, all anyone's talked about in the housing market are motivated Sellers.

As in, desperate for a deal, because their house has sat on the market for eon's and they're running out of time to make a move. Or, if they don't sell, they'll lose the house to the bank (assuming, of course, they have any equity left in it -- or ever did).

Now, I'm starting to hear and see isolated instances of Buyers feeling pressure to buy (imagine that!).

It's certainly not the case in every Twin Cities neighborhood, or at every price point, but the number of motivated Buyers seems to be creeping up.

Here are a couple of the reasons:

--First-time Buyers want to close before the end of the year to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit.

--Buyers know that, while there are a growing number of programs to assist eligible (mostly first-time or lower-income Buyers), many of the programs have limited funding that is quickly exhausted.

--Buyers who've been looking for bargain-basement foreclosures and have lost bidding wars (yes, they're popping up again) are nervous that the next wave of foreclosed homes won't be as attractive -- or attractively priced -- as the last wave. Or, there won't be another wave.

--Buyers looking for what everyone wants -- homes in a good location, that are nicely updated, have a sensible floor plan, etc. -- are disappointed by how limited their choices seem to be in certain, higher demand areas of the Twin Cities. Instead of waiting for an even better price, they're increasingly nervous that they're going to be outmaneuvered by another Buyer willing to pay close(er) to asking price.

What all of these situations have in common is the fear of loss.

When Buyer psychology tips from fear of buying too soon, to fear of missing out . . . the market's definitely firming up.