by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Long weekends and holiday weekends create a bit of a dilemma for real estate agents. On one hand, there’s more time to show houses to prospective buyers who have an extra day off or who may only be in town for a few days. On the other hand, the long weekends, like this weekend’s Labor Day holiday, present a rare opportunity to spend more time with family and friends. Work or make a sale?
“It took 20 years for me to figure this out,” said Naomi Lumley, director of sales at Palencia. “I used to to think people were coming into town for the holiday and I needed to capture that business. I found out I was spending a lot of holidays away from my family waiting for that elusive customer that never came.
“People with friends and family would come by, but only to look at the pretty model.”
Lumley said her industry has a high rate of divorce. She said she believes that the 24/7 nature of the real estate industry, combined with its commission-based income, contribute to that high divorce rate. Her employer, Palencia’s parent company, The Hines Company, agrees. Lumley said that at Palencia a concerted effort is made to assure that agents and all other employees get much-needed time off to spend with families.
“Many agents, including me at one time, put their careers first and that’s wrong,” she said. “We are open on the weekends like normal, but we are not open on Labor Day, Memorial Day and other holidays. On holidays, we put a sign on the door that says Hines believes in family time. I have gotten a great response from both Realtors and customers about being closed on holidays.”
Lumley did say that on certain occasions Palencia agents will work on a holiday, but it would be to either negotiate a contract, attend a closing or show a house to an out-of-town customer who can only see the house on a holiday.
Jeff Kern of Embassy Mortgage and Realty Corp. disagrees with the idea of closing on these holidays, saying long weekends present opportunities to reach a market that he may otherwise miss.
“Business steps up over extended weekends,” said Kern. “Buyers have the time to travel and see property. Out-of-towners, second-home buyers and relocation clients will come into town for some rest and relaxation and check out the market. There are more couples than families and it’s usually a good weekend to work.”
Susan Kennedy of Vanguard Realty, GMAC Real Estate said she looks at every day as an opportunity for her or one of her 16 team members to make a sale, regardless of whether it’s Labor Day, Christmas Eve or Easter Sunday.
“We are open every weekend and holiday,” said Kennedy. “It’s a busy time because people are off and they are looking for houses. As a Realtor, you have to be available at all times. It is not unusual for us to work Christmas Day or Christmas Eve. If people want to see a house, they need to be able to get in.”
Kennedy says being available virtually every day has proven worthwhile over the years.
“Absolutely,” she said. “We are in the customer service business and I have never been one to say you can’t call me on the weekend or after a certain time. I am available 24 hours and I want my customers to be able to call me. I worry about them and I want them to be able to reach me.”
Judy Hicks of Re/Max Coastal Real Estate said she decided several years ago that holidays were off-limits and that she was going to start leaving her cell phone in her car during family gatherings and dinners with her husband.
“I am not working Sunday or Monday this weekend,” said Hicks. “The real estate industry is divided on this issue. Some look at it as an opportunity to show houses to those in town for the weekend or those who are off work. I look at it as a rare opportunity to spend a whole day with my family. I long ago abandoned the seven-day-a-week work week. I usually plan a vacation for these long weekends.”
Hicks said two specific events made her realize that her job had consumed her life. She spent most of a dinner at her sister’s house on her cell phone and one night while eating out with her husband he casually pointed out she was on the phone the whole time. It was then that she decided dinners and long weekends were going to be just that.
“As a rule I do not work on Sundays anymore, but will do the occasional open house,” said Hicks, adding the she will negotiate a contract on the weekend if necessary and follow up on work from Saturday if it means completing a sale.
Fran Littleton of ERA Dan Jones & Associates Inc. said working holiday weekends has not proven to be worth the time.
“You would think most people would use a long holiday weekend as an opportunity to get in more house hunting,” said Littleton. “In my experience, long weekends are less busy than the average weekend. I usually work the weekend, but not the holiday itself. I may get a few calls, but not like you would expect. I guess most people take advantage of the long weekend to go out of town or take care of other things and do not want to use the additional time to house hunt. Office floor duty on these long weekends is usually also slow.”
Joy Arnold, a partner of Littleton’s at ERA Dan Jones & Associates Inc., said it’s often the seller who isn’t interested in foot traffic on a holiday.
“I have found that a few people do take the holiday as a chance to look at properties. However, most sellers are not willing to allow showings on a holiday so it ends up that I do get to take the holiday off to be with my family,” said Arnold.
Tim and Susan Fennell of Century 21 Atkins Realty, Inc. are a husband-and-wife team that says the long weekends aren’t much different any other time of the year or week.
“We don’t really see much difference in activity. It seems that the number of people taking a break from looking is countered by the number of people taking advantage of that time off from work to go out and look,” explained the couple. “We don’t take time off based on ‘holidays’ but rather we look at our schedule in general and take a few days when we don’t have closings scheduled or customers coming in from out-of-town. It seems to never fail, however, that when we take time away business seems to come pouring in just prior to leaving town. Unfortunately, we end up on the phone and Internet a large part of the time we are gone. We used to try to take a few days every quarter, but this year it has been very hard to find the time.”
Tom O’Connell of Watson Realty Corp. Amelia Island said being an agent at a resort community is a little different. Amelia Island tends to attract vacationers as opposed to potential home buyers. However, he does get a little business.
“Since we are a resort community, three-day holidays bring beachgoers, not house hunters,” said O’Connell. “Additionally, our business usually decreases slightly just after school starts in Georgia and Florida. Having said that, I’ll spend the weekend showing property to a customer from New Jersey. He’s retired, looking for a second home, and considers every day a holiday.”