“Do you like Christmas?”
That’s the first question real estate agent Ashley Hannah Murphy asks prospective clients when they approach her about buying a property in McAdenville, North Carolina, also known as Christmas Town U.S.A.
Between January and November, the town less than 20 miles outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, is a typical Southern alcove. Home to fewer than 1,000 residents, it boasts local restaurants and shops as well as access to trails and recreation.
But on Dec. 2, that all changes. That’s when McAdenville transforms into Christmas Town U.S.A. It’s straight out of a “Hallmark Christmas movie” with “literally every house being decorated head to toe," Murphy said.
As a real estate agent and resident, Murphy said marketing her lifestyle requires a particular approach, especially because it isn’t a fit for everyone.
Selling Christmas Town USA
McAdenville was founded in the early 1880s as a hub for textile production. But it wasn’t until 1956 that the town gained a reputation for its Christmas spirit. That’s when the McAdenville Men’s Club and late local business leader W.J. Pharr decided to decorate the trees surrounding the town’s community center with red, white and green lights.
Since then, the tradition has grown, and by the 1980s, Christmas Town U.S.A. began receiving national attention. Now, the town and its residents display their Christmas decor each year from Dec. 2 to 26. Their renowned light show shines nightly from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m., attracting thousands of visitors each year.
For sellers, Murphy said she discourages clients in McAdenville from listing their properties in December because things are so busy in town, making it hard to market and sell homes.
“You really have to cut off showing by 4 p.m.,” the agent who works for brokerage eXp Realty said. “You can’t get in otherwise. And that’s really prohibitive if you have a house on the market because a lot of times people can’t see it until 5 or 6.”
As far as potential buyers of houses in McAdenville, they typically fit into two camps, Murphy said. There are those specifically looking for properties in Christmas Town, and those looking for a house and end up buying in Christmas Town, unaware of what's to come in December.
The first group includes buyers who have “always wanted to live in McAdenville,” she said. For example, Murphy mentioned a client who moved into their new home in the town in October.
“It was their dream,” she said. “They wanted to live here, and they want their family to grow here.”
On the other hand, there are buyers who have never visited McAdenville in December and end up buying a house earlier in the year. Murphy said that population can be “a little shocked at first” when the lights go up.
In fact, Murphy said some agents and their clients don’t even know about McAdenville’s Christmas traditions until the holiday season rolls around and it comes time to decorate. For example, she said a new neighbor didn’t know they would be expected to decorate their house this year.
Adapting to the lifestyle
That’s an important disclosure to make, though, according to John Bolin, a real estate agent with Allen Tate Realtors. He said any transactions he completes in McAdenville include strict disclosures about expectations.
But it’s not always the right move to start the conversation with talk of the town getting lit with decorations each December.
“We don’t want them to buy something and then find out,” he said. “We’ll mention something in the remarks about it being Christmas Town U.S.A., but I wouldn’t typically lead in with that. That’s a seasonal thing.”
More than that, it can also be important that buyers understand the lifestyle that residents lead during the month of December. Every night from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m., the streets are filled with visitors in their cars and on foot. That brings light, noise and traffic.
For some buyers and homeowners, it can be too much, Murphy said. One of her clients ended up moving out of the town because of the chaos that Christmas Town invokes.
“It was just too much for them,” she said. “They do have small kids, and it just could be very overwhelming.”
But, Murphy's only encountered that once. As a mom of a 2-year-old, she said that she's found ways to make living in Christmas Town work for her family.
In fact, young families make up a large portion of Christmas Town’s population, according to Allen Tate Realtors' Bolin. Not only is that demographic attracted to the area’s activities, but the types of housing available are also better suited to families.
“A lot of the families are younger families with children,” he said. “Most all these houses, if not all of them, are multilevel homes. The older folks, want their primary bedroom on the bottom or they don’t want steps at all.”
All told, Murphy argued that for the right homeowner, especially Christmas lovers with young kids, living in McAdenville can be a special experience.
“While it’s super magical, you do have some downsides, but honestly it’s not that bad and you just have to learn how to navigate it,” she said. “You can’t order a pizza on a Friday night in McAdenville in the month of December. I’ll tell you that.”