What do I say when a seller wants to wait until after the holidays?

Agree with the date, then ask what waiting gives them. Often the owner wants a calm November and December, not a later sale. Show how a listing can fit their calendar: showing times they choose, a closing date that suits them, a move in January or later. Then ask for a short meeting with everyone who decides.

Drafted with AI by the 10before10 team, reviewed and approved by Grant Freer and Gia Freer, licensed Florida real estate brokers. Updated October 24, 2026. También en español.

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What is really being said

"We'll wait until after the holidays" is usually about the next eight weeks, not about the sale. November and December fill up.

There are guests to host, trips to take, school breaks and year-end work. A home on the market sounds like one more thing to manage.

Behind the same words sit very different owners. One has a real date: a job that starts in January, a home to buy, a lease that ends. One just came off a listing that did not sell and needs a rest.

One heard that nothing sells this time of year and never checked. One is ending the call politely.

Each needs a different conversation, so find out which owner you are talking to before you offer anything. And notice what they did not say.

They did not say no to selling. They said not yet, and they gave you a date.

Before you dial

Have the facts ready so the owner can look at them, not take your word for it. Pull the homes near them that sold in November and December of recent years, how long each took, and what is for sale near them today, all with dates. Bring them as something to read together, not as a forecast.

If the owner's listing expired or was cancelled, check the national and your state's do-not-call lists first, and follow your state's rules on calling hours and on how you identify yourself. A withdrawn listing is still under its agreement, so it is not called at all. The page on expired, cancelled or withdrawn covers the difference.

What to say

These are examples in plain words, not lines to memorize. Say them the way you talk.

Agree with the date.

"That makes sense. This time of year fills up fast."

Agreeing costs you nothing and lowers the guard. The owner expected an argument and got a person.

Ask what waiting gives them.

"Can I ask what after the holidays gives you?"

Listen past the first answer. A gentle "And what's behind that?" usually finds the real reason.

Learn where and when.

"Where are you hoping to be next, and by when?"

The date they need to arrive somewhere matters more than the date they want to list. Work backward from it together.

Then choose one of two routes, whichever fits the owner in front of you.

"We'll wait until after the holidays"

Route one, answer and ask the next question: "Fair enough. If the home sold now and the move itself happened in January or February, would that fit what you have planned?"

Owners often picture the sale and the move as one day. They are two dates, and the closing date is part of the negotiation.

Route two, answer and ask for the appointment: "That works. Would twenty minutes this week help, with everyone who is part of the decision, so your plan is ready whenever you choose to start?" A meeting that prepares their plan respects their date and makes you the agent who helped.

"We don't want people walking through the house during the holidays"

Route one: "Completely understood. If you chose every showing day and time, and none fell while you had guests, how would that change things?" The objection is about control, so hand the control back as a question.

Route two: "That's fair. Could we sit down for twenty minutes, you and anyone else who decides, and set the showing days together before anything goes live?" The appointment becomes the place where their rules get written.

"We just need a break from all this"

This one usually comes from an owner whose listing just ended.

Route one: "I hear you. It sounds like a long few months. When you think about selling again, what would need to be different this time?"

The owner names what went wrong, and you never have to blame the last agent or the price.

Route two: "That's fair. Would it help to meet for twenty minutes in early January, at a time that suits you and whoever else decides, so you start with a plan instead of starting over?" You respect the break and still leave with a date.

When the date is real

A date tied to the owner's life is a condition, not an objection. Accept it, plan with it, and agree on when you will check in along the way. The page on objection or condition covers how to tell them apart, and if the owner said spring instead, see when the seller wants to wait until spring.

What not to do

Do not predict the market in either direction. Lines about serious buyers this time of year, or a rush of new listings in January, are forecasts you cannot back up, and they turn the call into a debate. Show what sold and what is for sale near them, with dates, and let the owner draw the conclusion.

Do not assume which holidays the owner keeps, or whether they keep any. Say "the holidays" or name the months. Their calendar is theirs to describe.

Do not say "I'll call you after the holidays" and stop there. Agree on a date and a reason for the next call, and keep it.

Do not quote a price or a fee on the phone.

How to practice it

Have a colleague play an owner who says "We'll wait until after the holidays," each time for a different reason: guests arriving, a long trip, a listing that just expired, a job that starts in January, and no reason at all. Run it five times. Each time, agree, ask what waiting gives them, learn where and when, and choose a route out loud before you speak it.

Listen back for any sentence about the market that was really a prediction. Asking instead of telling is the habit 10before10™'s scorecard listens for on this drill.

An owner who lists in January still decides in December.

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