Love it or hate it, we are about to Fall Back. Despite gaining an extra hour to sleep in, many people have a hard time adjusting as the days seem much longer (have another Americano!). Did you know daylight savings really does affect the Colorado real estate market?
HOW DAYLIGHT SAVINGS AFFECTS Colorado’s REAL ESTATE MARKET
1. Less Weekday Showings (Evenings) – Many buyers are only available to see homes outside their daytime work hours & prefer to look at homes when it’s light out to see the neighborhood, yard, exterior, etc. Because of this they’ve been limited to weekend showings or taking time off of work during the week. Now that it’s darker earlier in the evenings more buyers will wait until the weekends OR they have to take time off of work (which many don’t like to do).
For sellers: More showings on weekends or during the day = Need to leave the home ready to show when you leave for work!
For Buyers: More daytime showings or it will be dark = Need to be more flexible on availability
For Realtors: We may be able to work less at night 😉 PHEW!
2. Psychological – After work when it’s dark out, our bodies think it’s time to relax, stay indoors, and wind down for the night. This is one of the factors that leads to the typical winter slow down in real estate. It’s colder and darker…not ideal to boost buyer motivation. Plus, fewer people are inclined to pack up and move while winter is approaching. Most want to “hunker” down put up holiday decorations 🙂
4 TIPS TO HELP ADJUST TO DAYLIGHT SAVINGS
Changing the time in either direction shifts the body’s main time cue – the daylight – for setting and resetting our 24-hour natural cycle. In doing so, our internal clock becomes out of sync or mismatched with our sleep processes as well as social and environmental factors.
1. For Kids: Avoid trying to tire your child out with busy activities before bed. Overtired children often actually take longer to fall asleep and may even resist sleep completely.
2. Go to Bed Earlier: Hitting the hay a little early the night before should help you to wake up feeling refreshed.
3. Expose yourself to the light during the waking hours as much as possible, and conversely, do not expose yourself to bright light when it is dark outside.
4. Create a sleep-friendly environment to enhance your chances of falling asleep, staying asleep and sleeping soundly. Consider reducing or eliminating caffeine and alcohol and exercising several hours before bedtime. You can also create calming rituals before bed to gradually relax yourself like taking a hot bath, and wearing ear plugs and eye masks.
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