Happy St. Patrick's Day Ohio!
By Chris Petry
This year, St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Monday. Ordinarily, the prospect of any holiday falling on a Monday is enough to make anyone recoil in horror and dread. After all, one still needs to report to work first thing Tuesday morning. Then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before there’s any time to catch up on lost Zzzs. Of course, a lot of people will just ramp up the partying over the weekend like they always do. Because no matter what day of the week it is, when it comes to St. Patty’s Day, there’s always a weekend of celebration. Parades, bar hops, parties… everyone’s Irish on March 17th. As a Scotsman, I might relent and wear green that day. It’s infectious!
What about real estate over St. Patrick’s Day weekend? Is it even a thing? Should one be making crucial buying and selling decisions under the influence of Guinness, corned beef and cabbage? While I had a hard time tracking down any stats that show whether or not real estate sees a bump or a dip during the festivities, I did see this. It’s an article from Talk Business, around this time last year, commenting on the National Retail Federation’s predictions about consumer spending on St. Patrick’s Day. The big takeaway? People spend a lot of money.
More Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than Irish folk, based on sheer numbers. In fact, the number of Americans who will dawn four lead clovers and dart pub to pub eclipses the entire population of Ireland 20 times. One in two households purchase food and 44% will buy holiday-specific beverages. 82% of the population says they’ll wear green as they’re afraid of getting pinched. Because green makes you invisible to cheeky leprechauns who have nothing better to do on March 17th than pinch party poopers in blue.
Americans love St. Patrick’s Day! On average, they’ll spend about $44 a person to celebrate, with total consumer spending clocking in somewhere around 7 billion. Cities, small and not so small will likely host parades and while St. Patrick’s Day isn’t generally regarded as a hot day for real estate, homeowners, home stagers and REALTORS will all likely incorporate some of the holiday’s iconic imagery into their presentation. Which is a good thing. Multiple independent studies have shown that holiday-related decorating can create the kind of warm and hospitable environment buyers crave. A pot of gold here and a four-leaf clover there just might give your home the extra push it needs to appeal to prospective buyers.
What are YOUR plans over the holiday weekend? Whether you intend to go out or stay in, we hope the luck of the Irish is with you. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
