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You are here: Home / Archives for holidays

holidays

The Holiday Rush – A Real Estate Tradition

November 28, 2018 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Holiday Rush

The “holiday rush” usually refers to the shopping madness that is known as Black Friday and the last minute crush of people hurrying and scurrying from store to store looking for those last few deals, picking up last minute gifts, and those of us who wait until the last minute for everything. Stores love it because it fills out their bottom line during the waning moments of the year. But in real estate it happens too and for the past few years we’ve seen it even more. There are several reasons why we see a rush to buy heading into the holidays and it keeps us busy and we love seeing it and hope the tradition continues. What creates the holiday rush in real estate? Let’s take a look at some of the factors.

Corporate Relocation

As corporations end their years they make big decisions. Corporate relocations happen all the time, but we see a lot at the end of the year as companies look to the year ahead and shift priorities and personnel. Because the decisions driving the moves are not personal, they can be made without the more emotional ties of things like the holidays or disrupting a school year (often deciding factors for people in their moves).

Tax Considerations

Some people have large tax considerations to take into account and need to offload property or spend cash to help with their taxes. Accountants will recommend different tactics depends on your particular situation, so refer to them for tax advice.

Bargain Shopping

Like shoppers on Black Friday, homebuyers love a good deal. While not a de facto truth, buyers often think that if a seller is on the market during the holidays, they are desperate to unload their property at rock bottom prices. There certainly are some sellers out there in that position, but our experience shows that this is more buyers putting their hopes into their own perception of the end of year. We do find that both buyers and sellers during the holiday season tend to be quite serious about buying/selling and are often quicker to pull the trigger once they find what they want.

New Year, New You

The coming new year provides a big opportunity for change. The familiar phrase “new year, new you” applies to housing as well. Who wouldn’t want to start a fresh new life with a change of setting too? You can start decorating, change your style, have plenty of new DIY projects, and reorganize everything – a new house is a chance to do it all over again and for some people, that’s a dream come true.

Join the Holiday Rush

If you do find yourself looking for a home or need to sell your house during the holidays, let us know. We’d love to help you make the transition, no matter what your reason for doing so. We specialize in making the transitions as easy on you as possible. Happy holidays and happy homeshopping!

image courtesy of B Rosen

Filed Under: Real Estate Market Tagged With: real estate, buying a home, selling your home, holidays

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

November 24, 2016 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Thanksgiving 2016

Everyone at Kimberly Howell Properties wish you and your family a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving! We hope you’ll find yourself surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones. Our agents and staff will be relaxing today and enjoying some time off (although your agent may be working, check with them if you need assistance) and our offices will be closed today for Thanksgiving. We will remain closed on Friday, November 25th, but reopen for normal weekend hours on Saturday, November 26th. We hope you have an incredible day and have a chance to reflect on some of the things in your life that you have to be thankful for. We have many here at Kimberly Howell Properties and we are looking forward to another fantastic year with all of you. As we head to the end of 2016, we will look back fondly on a year of growth, new challenges, new faces, and lots of fun times spent with our agents, staff, and you. We have big things in the works for the coming year and we can’t wait to share them with you.

Filed Under: KHP News Tagged With: thanksgiving, holidays, 2016

Happy Independence Day! Celebrating the 4th of July

July 4, 2016 by Matt Stigliano Leave a Comment

Independence Day

Today is Independence Day – the 4th of July – a day filled with fireworks, backyard BBQs, and summertime fun. Today we celebrate becoming a country and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. America has a unique history and we celebrate our formation like no other country. I once spent a 4th of July in London, England and I had a spectacular time – we found a Mexican restaurant (Mexican food in England does not come close to what we have in Texas) that had American flags for decorations at every table and later watched as some Americans set off fireworks over Tower Bridge from the Thames River – talk about an fun mix of culture and customs in one day! (I also once spent the day at a German public pool filming a special episode for German music television channel VIVA – that was one of the weirder days of my life.) I’ve always loved the 4th of July – it’s always a fun day and it holds special significance to me as both an American and someone who grew up in Philadelphia and spent a lot of time learning that part of American history in school (field trips to Independence Hall are a regular event when you grow up in the area).

Our offices will be closed today so that our agents and staff can celebrate with their families and friends and enjoy the summer. On Tuesday, we’ll be right back at it and open as always. If you have an emergency or need to speak with someone, call or email your agent and they’ll get you taken care of.

We hope you all (the closest I can come to saying y’all as a Northerner) have a terrific Independence Day and have enjoyed the long holiday weekend. Remember to be safe out there and we’ll see you this week!

image courtesy of jdtornow

Filed Under: KHP News Tagged With: 4th of july, independence day, office closed, holidays

Kimberly Howell Properties Holiday Office Hours

December 23, 2015 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Kimberly Howell Properties Holiday Office Hours

Kimberly Howell Properties will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. We will be closing at noon on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Our agents work independent schedules, so if you have a specific need during those times, please call or email your agent directly. For those of your with rent payments due on January 1st, please make arrangements to pay before noon on the 31st or make arrangements with your property manager to drop off your rent. We will open be open both holiday weekends under normal operating hours – Saturday 10-4 and Sunday 12-4. We hope you enjoy your holidays and we’re looking forward to an amazing 2016 with our past clients and the many we have yet to meet.

image courtesy of Iain Farrell

Filed Under: KHP News Tagged With: new years, christmas, holidays, office hours

Selling Your Home During the Holidays

December 15, 2015 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Holidays

Don’t Fear The Holidays When Selling Your Home

Traditionally the summer months are the hot months of the real estate market (both literally and figuratively), but there are still tons of buyers and sellers looking to make their move in the fall in winter months. Listing your home for sale during the holidays does bring about some unique challenges, but with a little bit of attention, you can sell your home, even during the holidays.

  1. Winter weather woes. Ok, let’s be real. We’re in Texas…South Texas at that. The weather is never really that bad. But we do hit a few really good cold snaps each year and the occasional ice storm heads our way as well. Those freezing temperatures can wreak havoc on our homes, especially when we aren’t accustomed to handling it. If your home is listed for sale and the temperatures drop, here are a few things you can do to make sure your asset is protected.
    • Cover pipes. Wrap them up so they don’t burst after freezing and warming does some contraction, pipe cracking magic on them.
    • Cover plants. Most big box stores sell specialty plant covers, but a good old sheet will also work. The idea is to trap the heat of the plants and keep them from flash freezing and then dying.
    • Keep thermostats set to reasonable temperatures. Especially if your house is vacant, you’ll want to keep the utilities (in this case the heater) on just enough to a) keep pipes inside from freezing and b) keep potential buyers comfortable enough that they can stand to spend some time admiring your beautiful property instead of making a mad dash for the warmth and comfort of their cars.
    • Doormats are your friend. With the winter weather you see gross wet conditions. It rains outside, buyers want to come inside, and then they bring the wetness and the dirt along with them. Consider putting a mat at the front door (both on the inside and the outside your front door) as well as an umbrella stand or jacket hook and towels. It’s those extra touches that keep your home at the top of the list.
  2. Landscaping in a new and different way. While we touched a little before on keeping up with landscaping in the face of freezing temperatures, you also have to remember that much of our holiday season isn’t full of the frozen, but instead of the slightly chilly and breezy. We aren’t always so blessed as to have the gorgeous changing colors of fall, but that doesn’t mean we don’t see the fun part made up of the thousands of falling leaves waiting to be swept together into piles for eager children and squirrels. Keeping yards raked and adding heartier or fall-inspired florals are just a couple of additional ways to keep up the curb appeal in a different way than you might have to tackle in other seasons.
  3. Holiday lights. Going Griswold may catch the eye of many an onlooker and inspire awe in others in the neighborhood you hope to soon be moving out of, but in may not be the best idea if your home is on the market during the holiday season. If Christmas lights are in your blood and you can’t help but add a little something here or there, just remember to keep it simple and understated. White icicle lights and a tasteful wreath – yes. Inflatable Santa circus with flashing reindeer, flying helicopters, and a jingle bell light show every half hour – not so much.
  4. Holiday décor inside the home. Starting in September and October, millions of Americans go to their attics, sheds, or storage units and pull out tub after tub, box after box, labeled “fall décor,” “Halloween Stuff,” “Christmas Decorations,” “Hanukkah Supplies,” and more. Inside these tubs lie lights, statues, fake plants, ribbon, glitter, gourds, silver, candles, posters, wreaths, potpourri, pinecones, linens, and on and on and on. When you are selling your home, remember that less is quite often more, so you might want to think about scaling things back just for this year. However, these traditional supplies, decorations, and adornments are the traditions of many families and the things that make their houses feel like homes this time of year. So instead of just killing any holiday cheer, might we recommend some of the following ideas.
    • Having professional marketing photos taken before the addition of any décor items. While you hope that the home sells quickly, it may not, and there is little in this world more awkward than looking at an MLS listing in March or April that still includes a Christmas tree.
    • Keep it neutral. This is not one of those politically correct statements or even one trying to stop you from celebrating your religious beliefs or traditions. It’s about keeping your home as appealing and inviting to as many people as possible. For the same reasons that we advise a neutral color pallet, removal of highly personal items or photos, and other staging tips, we advise you to keep your holiday décor sophisticated, toned down a smidge, and inviting/appealing to all.
    • Remember the children. At Halloween, you don’t want to terrify a potential buyer’s five year old so badly that they never want to set foot near the property ever again. And later in the year another set of potential buyers may have a roaming toddler eager to touch decorative candles, poke at (and possibly accidentally break) valuable tree ornaments, or even slip and fall on some faux snow piled near a door. Just be mindful that you will have potential buyers coming through your home at any given time.
  5. And speaking of guests, the last months of the year are definitely the biggest for hosting family and friends. This can, for obvious reasons, create some conflicts when trying to schedule potential buyers on tours of your house. If you’re serious about selling at this time, consider changing your showing instructions to require a little more advanced notice (so you can plan a family outing to see Santa) rather than cancelling showings all together. And keep in mind that you may have to communicate showings to more people than usual in order to help them go smoothly. Otherwise potential buyers may walk in on a very surprised Aunt Edna getting out of the shower because she didn’t get the showing memo that one time she came for Thanksgiving. Most often, the buyers who are out looking in bad weather or around the holidays are actually the most serious buyers (or they wouldn’t be out in the cold and/or away from their own families if they could help it) and we would love to see you make the most of those showings whenever possible.

image courtesy of Jamie McCaffrey

Filed Under: Sell Your Home Tagged With: selling your home, curb appeal, holidays

Happy Thanksgiving from Kimberly Howell Properties

November 27, 2013 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Kimberly Howell Properties

Happy Thanksgiving San Antonio!

The agents and staff at Kimberly Howell Properties wants to wish everyone a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving. Whether you’re a client, a visitor to our website, a vendor, or friends and family; we hope everyone has an amazing day with their loved ones. We will be closed on Thursday the 28th (Thanksgiving Day) and Friday the 29th. We will reopen on Saturday at 10AM and have regular hours for the weekend (Saturday 10-4 and Sunday 12-4). In the meantime, enjoy your day and if you need anything, please contact your agent directly.

Kimberly Howell Properties has plenty to be thankful for – from a great year to our fantastic clients to our excellent group of agents to our many friends and all of our families. Real estate has been good to us and we look forward to working with clients old and new through the next year.

Filed Under: KHP News Tagged With: thanksgiving, holidays, office hours

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