As a real estate investor, should you stop marketing around the holidays? It’s an age-old question that investors love to kick around in online forums. The real question is: do you want to keep buying houses through the end of the year? The debate can go back and forth, but from my personal experience, the answer to both of these questions is: YES!
There are many important facets to good marketing, but two of the most important are consistency and timing. Whether you are sending direct mail or making follow up calls, consistency and timing are crucial. Many investors think that marketing dollars are wasted around the holidays, but I couldn’t disagree more.
The holidays are a time of year where extended families come together, big decisions are made, emotions run high, pocketbooks get squeezed and the end of year deadline looms. That might seem like an odd list of things to associate with the holidays, but when it comes to investment real estate, all of the aforementioned aspects can lead to homeowners making the big decision to sell a house.
Knowing that consistency and timing are integral to your marketing efforts, wouldn’t it make sense to be the first person a potential seller thinks about when they are ready to sell a house? Absolutely! That being said, don’t quit marketing through the holidays. Your goal as an investor is to be “top of mind” in your market year-round when people want to sell a house quickly. When people are truly motivated to sell a house, they will take action and if they take action around the holidays you can bet they are really motivated.
A few years ago I received 3 motivated seller calls on Thanksgiving day – no joke! Real estate might calm down during certain times of the year, but it never stops – especially during the holidays. Stay consistent, stay timely, and don’t stop marketing!