When we get to this time of year, many sellers start talking about taking their houses off the market for the holidays. Some sellers think that all the buyers go into hibernation during November and December. Others just don’t want to be hassled with showing their houses during the holidays.

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For most buyers and sellers, the primary focus in a real estate contract is limited to just two pieces of information — the sales price and the settlement date.

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Come Thursday, the ghost and goblins will be on the prowl, banging on doors, looking to bag a sack full of treats. For the kids, it’s one of the greatest days of the year, a time when candy is free and most moms and dads consent to the consumption. For adults, Halloween is the first holiday in a trifecta of overeating that continues with Thanksgiving in November and Christmas in December, cumulating in a gym membership sometime around January or February.

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Just about any real estate agent will tell you that one trait many buyers and sellers have in common is procrastination. Although the desire to delay is frustrating for agents, the trepidation of buyers and sellers is not unjustified.

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When you put your property up for sale, people will obviously need to come take a look at it. In real estate lingo, the process of having total strangers nose around your house is called a “showing.” This week, we thought we’d talk about how showings work, how to prepare for a showing and what to expect in the aftermath.

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As the federal government shutdown lingers, the degree to which our political parties are at loggerheads indicates that this might go on for a bit. The Republicans want some concessions, President Obama says he refuses to negotiate and the American people are fairly evenly split between those who blame one side or the other and all of the above. Barring some solution that will allow everyone to save face, the stars are aligned for what’s shaping up to be a prolonged fall vacation for the federal workforce.

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Last week, we went to Wisconsin on a family visit. My brother lives in Madison, and my parents live in a small town to the southwest of Madison called Platteville. Whenever we travel, it’s always interesting to see how home prices compare with Maryland.

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Over the past couple of columns, we’ve been reviewing the impact of rising mortgage rates, as well as the impetus for those rate increases. We recently explained how the Federal Reserve, led by Chairman Ben Bernanke, triggered a jump in mortgage rates by suggesting that the Feds might begin to tighten up on their easy money policies.

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Last week, we wrote about how the housing market had slowed significantly, most likely due to a sudden bump in mortgage rates. At that time, the data for August wasn’t yet available. Well, now the numbers are in, and they confirm our suspicions. August was indeed a lousy month for home sales.

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The numbers aren’t in yet, but word on the street is that home sales took a bit of a breather in August. As we wrote in a recent column, July and especially August is typically a slow time for real estate. People are hitting the beach, and the idea of house hunting is on the back burner. Agents also take a vacation from time to time, so they aren’t out there beating the bushes for buyers and sellers. In fact, the only period of the year that’s slower than August is the holiday time from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.

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