Did You See That?

Last evening was a nice night for real estate. Temperatures were in the mid 50s, which is unseasonably warm for late November, and quite pleasant for looking at houses. But it wasn’t a perfect night. The problem? It got dark before 5:00! So our buyers really couldn’t see the fantastic architectural details or the brand new roof.

The lack of light at this time of year makes evaluating houses more challenging. Most buyers work during the day, and by the time they are free to check out a property on weekday evenings, it is already dark. We still do showings in the evenings, but those visits are always followed up with a daylight showing to investigate the exterior of the home and the immediate surroundings.

Sometimes we get lucky and our clients have non-traditional work weeks, allowing them to visit homes during a weekday. We’re showing a property this afternoon, for example, to a couple where his schedule is flexible and her off-day is Tuesdays. We also will take buyers out during weekdays to scout out potential properties on behalf of their significant other. They can then weed out the homes that would not work, allowing weekend showings with both of them to focus on the most interesting properties.

Weekends in the winter sometimes become a juggling act as we work to squeeze as many appointments as possible into each and every day. Fortunately (?) the market is slower through the darker months of the year, which helps manage the situation naturally. We’re just glad that the sun returns in time for the busy season in the spring.

Even though winter is just beginning, we can’t wait for the sunlight, warmth, and all the other wonderful things that come along with spring. Sigh. Darkness is depressing … and difficult for business.