Disclaimer: PropStream does not offer investment advice. This article is for informational purposes only. Consult a financial professional before contacting homeowners or investing in off-market real estate.
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If you think the holidays are a hard time to land real estate deals, think again. The end of the year can be one of the most overlooked windows for off-market opportunities. In this article, we’ll explain why and how your business can take advantage of this unique time of year.
Why the Holiday Season Creates Hidden Real Estate Opportunities
The holiday season can offer hidden real estate opportunities because:
- Many investors slow down their operations, reducing competition.
- Some homeowners urgently need cash before year-end (to help cover taxes, job loss, relocation, etc.).
- Distressed or high-equity owners may not want to carry the property into the new year.
- Certain property types experience more turnover during holidays (e.g., vacant rentals, inherited homes, and properties with absentee owners).
Pro Tip: Since your inbound leads may decrease, even light outreach can help you stand out.
Before you dive into the tips below, you can watch this short video to learn how real estate agents find off-market leads using PropStream.
Tip #1: Identify Homeowners Facing Year-End Financial Pressure
To land off-market deals during the holidays, look for homeowners who may be facing year-end financial pressures, such as:
- Outstanding property taxes due in December/January
- Holiday-related debts
- Job changes or layoffs
- Pending foreclosure deadlines
You may be surprised by how readily some owners are willing to part with their properties. By offering to take an unwanted asset off their hands, they might escape a challenging financial situation, while you buy at a discount, a win-win.
Tip #2: Focus on Tired Landlords and Absentee Owners
Many landlords check out during the holidays but want to avoid year-end maintenance, vacancies, or disruptive tenants. For example, they may have a non-paying tenant whose lease is set to renew in January. Instead of evicting the tenant, the landlord may prefer to offload the property. By reaching out at the right time, you may catch them when they’re ready to sell.
Pro Tip: Focus on landlords whose lease cycles end in December/January. This may give you some negotiation leverage and lead to quicker closings, as the landlords are on a tight deadline.
The same goes for absentee owners. A property that may have excited an out-of-state real estate investor initially may have lost its appeal due to the challenges of remote property management. By stepping in with a compelling offer, you could win a great deal.
Tip #3: Look for Vacant Properties Before Winter Weather Hits
The holidays can also urge owners to sell vacant properties. This is because vacant homes can be costly to hold onto during the winter months. Think increased utility costs, maintenance needs, and risk of vandalism, etc. Seize the opportunity by finding owners who want to remove their vacant properties from their books before winter fully sets in.
Tip #4: Connect With Owners Handling Year-End Life Changes
Unexpected life transitions are relatively common during the holidays. Whether it's relocating for a job, downsizing, going through a divorce, or inheriting a home, changes happen in the new year.
As homeowners move on to the next phase of life, they may be more motivated to sell, creating unique buying opportunities. However, these require a sensitive approach. After all, not all life transitions are wanted. Express empathy for the homeowner’s situation and then position yourself as someone who can help. Aim to be supportive, not salesy.
Tip #5: Use Light, Low-Pressure Seasonal Follow-Up
Integrate seasonal greetings into your outreach and follow-ups during the holidays. Many homeowners appreciate warm, non-intrusive messages and gentle follow-ups acknowledging the season. If not, you can always offer flexible call/meeting options for after the holidays.
Pro Tip: Personalizing messages around “starting fresh in the new year” can improve response rates. Try it in your next outbound marketing campaign and track the results.
Tip #6: Use PropStream to Find Discounted Off-Market Properties in Slow Season
When the housing market slows down for the holidays, search for off-market deals. This means finding properties that aren’t listed for sale on the MLS but whose owners may still be interested in selling. While this can require more research, PropStream makes it easy.
Here’s what a typical prospecting workflow might look like on PropStream:
- Set up saved searches for motivated-seller criteria. PropStream includes 20 pre-built lead lists for common selling motivations, including absentee owners, pre-foreclosures, and tired landlords.
- Track newly qualified leads daily. PropStream automatically updates lead lists in real time by adding new properties that meet your investment criteria and removing those that no longer do.
- Use comps to evaluate fast-moving opportunities. Whenever you spot an attractive property lead, evaluate its worth directly within PropStream by comparing it to similar nearby properties that have recently sold (also known as “comps”).
- Launch marketing campaign. Skip trace property leads’ owner contact information and launch an email or postcard marketing campaign, all within PropStream. Alternatively, you can export off-market lead lists to a predictive dialer, such as BatchDialer.
Pro Tip: Investors should check PropStream every 2-3 days during holidays because new inventory appears with lower buyer activity.
Tip #7: Look for Homes Late in the Year With Expired Listings
Expired listings are properties that were listed on the MLS but failed to sell during the listing agreement period, typically due to overpricing, poor marketing, or unfavorable market conditions. End-of-year expired listings can be golden opportunities for investors because sellers are often frustrated that they didn’t sell and must now face the winter housing slowdown.
By approaching expired listing owners before winter settles in, you can negotiate a favorable deal. Seize the opportunity by applying the “Failed Listings” or “Off-Market but Previously Listed” filters to your PropStream search. Then cross-check the results with information on the property’s owner type, occupancy, and equity position (also listed in PropStream).
Use PropStream to Uncover Off-Market Opportunities This Holiday Season
Don’t let the holidays slow down your deal flow. Instead, use PropStream to uncover off-market opportunities, identify motivated sellers, and connect with homeowners who are ready to sell before the new year. This is how you stay ahead of the competition in any market.
*PropStream engages an independent third party to perform skip-tracing.
