As we mentioned last week , many potential homeowners take a break from house hunting over the holiday season. This happens partly for holiday reasons—we all get busy with Christmas parties, pageants, and shopping. But it also happens for market-based reasons—primarily that many homeowners take a break from selling.

The usual rule goes like this: A house that’s been on the market for a long time might be assumed to have something wrong with it. So when no-one is buying anyway, it’s wise to do your house a favor and take it off the market to keep it fresh for when buying picks up.

But, in this economy, staying in the home-selling game through the holidays might just be a wise choice. Here are three reasons why:

Dress Your House in its Christmas Best

With trees bare, leaves brown and bagged, and flowers hibernating until spring, winter isn’t normally the time to show off your house at its verdant best. Drape those dormant trees in Christmas lights, however, and you’ll be appealing right to the heart of what many potential home buyers are looking for in a house.

Home buyers usually shop with specific visualizations in mind—birthday parties, family dinners, and holidays like Christmas. A home on the market during the holiday season—dressed up in its sparkly, cheery best—makes it easier for homeowners to do just that, and form that sort of bond with the house that leads to a sale.

Carolers Are Customers Too

Think about all the people that head out Christmas light cruising and caroling each year. You can turn this tradition to your advantage by having your house ready and waiting for when the revelry comes by. Even if most carolers and cruisers aren’t specifically looking for houses while out and about, your resplendent house might just stick in their mind for when the time is right for them to buy.

Throw the Rules Out the Window

This year, the usual rules just don’t apply. For the most part, homeowners everywhere are struggling to sell their perfectly sellable homes—the kind that would normally be snapped up quickly in a healthy economy. Most potential home buyers understand and expect this, and so the normal stigma attached to non-sellers isn’t really there. Avoid letting your home fall into disrepair and go the extra mile with holiday touches, and it will find a buyer when the market is ready—regardless of how long a for-sale sign has been in the front yard.

The market is slowly ripening in Dallas —have your home ready when opportunity knocks. Contact one of our Dallas home loan experts for more information.