The Castro Village Tree Lighting and a December Listing Plan

The first Fridays of December have been a Castro Valley tradition since the 1950s, when Castro Village Shopping Center began lighting its Christmas tree for the community. The event anchors a month of holiday gatherings, from the Holiday Fair at the fairgrounds to tree lightings across the East Bay. For sellers, December is also a thinner, quieter market with a specific set of buyers. Here is how Tim Fiebig reads the month, and the plan behind a December listing.

The holiday calendar in early December

Castro Village Shopping Center holds its annual Christmas tree lighting on the first Friday of December, a pattern it has followed for years: the 2025 edition took place Friday, December 5, and 2024 fell on December 6, which points to Friday, December 4 in 2026. The shopping center posts confirmed details as the date approaches. The event features live music, entertainment, and photos with Santa, and it has been a town fixture since the 1950s. The same first weekend of December, the fairgrounds hosts the 49th Annual Holiday Fair on December 4-5, its drive-through Winter Glow light show returns for the season, and downtown Hayward and San Leandro each light up their own celebrations.

That cluster of events is not a coincidence. Early December is when the East Bay returns from the Thanksgiving pause, and the shopping season pulls the same families who tour open houses back out into their towns. For a seller, the tree lighting weekend is a snapshot of how many people are moving through Castro Valley on any given Friday night, and how the town gathers when the weather turns.

What December selling actually looks like

December listings behave differently from October listings, and that is fine when the plan is honest about it. Inventory is thin, so a well-priced home faces fewer competitors. The buyers who are touring are serious: many want to close before year end, and others are relocating on schedules that do not pause for the holidays. Homes also show well dressed for the season, and lightweight, neutral holiday décor helps buyers picture the house with their own traditions in it.

The trade-off is reach. Buyer volume dips during the holiday weeks, so a December listing depends more on marketing, agent outreach, and the first-impression work done before launch. In the current Castro Valley market, well-priced homes have been going under contract in about 29 days per the monthly market report, but that pace belongs to homes that stay visible, not to listings that quietly sit through the holidays and re-enter January with a stale showing history.

The plan behind a December listing

• Price from real comps, not the season. Tim prices each Castro Valley listing from the closest recent sales, so a home launches in the range buyers are actually searching, whatever the calendar says.
• Prepare before the first showing. Paint, landscaping, and staging guidance help the home match its price from day one, and holiday décor is kept light enough for buyers to imagine their own.
• Keep showing hours flexible. Buyers in December tour around work and family schedules, so availability across evenings and weekends keeps a listing in reach of the serious pool.

The market report is updated every month, the neighborhood guide shows how each pocket of town prices differently this time of year, and the Light Parade post maps the full November-to-mid-December window a seller can still catch.

Licensed since 1978 · 1,000+ homes sold in Castro Valley alone · eXp ICON Agent. If you are thinking about a December sale, call Tim at 510-708-8700 or use the contact form to talk through your home, your timing, and what the month can realistically deliver.

Tim Fiebig, Broker-Associate, DRE #00657474 · eXp Realty of California, Inc., DRE #01878277 · Equal Housing Opportunity.