When most people think of Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts, they picture parades, Pilgrims and pumpkin pie. But for local real estate agents, the holiday week presents opportunities for showing and selling homes.
But like a first attempt at deep-frying a turkey, it can be hit or miss.
Lynne Morey of Coldwell Banker Realty has been a resident of Plymouth for more than 55 years and a real estate agent for 26-plus in this community about 29 miles south of Boston known for being where the Pilgrims landed on the Mayflower and built a settlement in 1620.
Morey told Homes.com that Plymouth is busy in general during the week of Thanksgiving because tourists want to see all the historic sites, including the Mayflower replica, Plymouth Rock and Plimoth Patuxet Museums, which recreate the Pilgrim and Wampanoag settlements. (Mind you, not everyone comes to celebrate the establishment of the Colonies. Since 1970, local Native American tribes have held a National Day of Mourning on Thanksgiving on Cole's Hill, above Plymouth Rock.)
“Those tourists fall in love with the New England charm, miles of coastal living and the great restaurants and shopping in the downtown and waterfront areas,” Morey said. “They typically want to purchase a second home, which most of the time they end up retiring in.”
Jennifer Jule, an agent with Keller Williams Realty in South Easton and a Plymouth County resident, called it "such a magical time ... because everything is decorated, and there are so many celebrations that go on around 'America’s Hometown.'”
This year, Jack Murphy, a resident and an agent with Plymouth Village Realtors, had an open house for a condo on Nov. 22, during the Thanksgiving Day parade.
The condo, at 28 Middle St., "was actually in a very specific area” — right in the middle of the parade route, Murphy said. “There's a lot of foot traffic."
Usually. But it rained on that parade, prompting some people to stay home and watch it on TV.
Despite Thanksgiving draw, Plymouth sees holiday lull
Like every coastal community, beachgoers in the summer can become buyers in the fall, and those shoppers scramble to get into their new homes before the holidays.
Overall, though there are pros and cons to selling in Plymouth at this time of year, according to Murphy.
“People love to host in Plymouth,” he said, “so, you get an uptick of friends, family members, people that might be coming out to the area and they see all the amenities … They fall in love with the place. I've seen it many times before.”
But if a property has features like a water view and wooded surroundings or is in a desirable neighborhood, and the owner is not under pressure to sell, it may be wise to wait until the spring, he said. “For the majority, I would say that it is probably more advantageous to list after the holidays."
It's a smaller pool of buyers, but they are serious
Jule said Plymouth remains a seller's market during the holidays, and she advises her clients to list now because while inventory may be low and there may not be many shoppers, serious buyers are still looking.
“We do see a seasonal dip in listings — and sellers want to pull back their listings for a little bit to celebrate the holidays of Thanksgiving, December and New Year’s — and then they pop it back on toward February or March," she said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a seller's market, a balanced market or a buyer's market, it's all about your competition. Because there are fewer properties out there, yours will be looked at even more favorably.”
Morey said Plymouth offers a variety of homes. “Plymouth is unique in that we have homes from $300,000 to $5 million,” Morey said. A look at listings on Homes.com Monday found 231 listings ranging from a two-bedroom, one-bath condo for $215,000 to a 9.7-acre, six-bedroom oceanfront mansion for $3.97 million.
That range reflects a growing community. The population here has swelled to 65,405, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association. That's a far cry from the 102 Pilgrims who landed in Plymouth in 1620.
As a resident of Plymouth, Murphy said he likes how busy Thanksgiving week gets with people enjoying the nightlife.
“Things that I'm looking forward to this Thanksgiving are hopefully selling this house [and] enjoying a meal with my family," he said. "The best town that you can have Thanksgiving is where it all started."