Thanksgiving is a time for family, community and scrumptious dining; or, if you’re an agent, a great time to list and sell properties!

A new story in The Los Angeles Times by Lauren Beale has spotlighted several agents off the West Coast who take advantage of the unnaturally long Thanksgiving weekend to show homes, host open houses, and conduct other real estate-related activities that they wouldn’t have the time for otherwise.

“I’m showing houses at 8 a.m and 6:30 in the evening,” said Shelly Palmer, an 11-year agent with Snyder Sutton Real Estate in Topanga. “People have so little time off work that they have to combine everything that they need to get done on holidays.”Palmer said that typically, holidays were the slowest times of the year, as the few consumers who weren’t traveling spent their free time at home with their family. And though holidays remain slower days – a RE/MAX agent was quoted in the story that he expects maybe a third of their normal business during holidays – they do entice a more driven, determined customer.

“It’s like shopping for a car in the rain,” said Megan Spargo of Podley Properties in Pasadena, who will be showing buyers properties in her area this weekend.

Darryl Rosen of Shorewood Realtors, who will spend the weekend after Thanksgiving holding an open house, echoed that idea.

“There are people who are seriously looking for homes,” Rosen said, “and those are the people who are going to be coming.”

And Drew Mandile of Sotheby’s Beverly Hills office said that the familial nature of Thanksgiving actually works in the favor of agents.

“Thanksgiving is a festive time, when mom and dad have time off and they can drive around,” said Mandile, who is also holding an open house this weekend. “I mean, how much can you eat before you want to take a drive?”

Of course, not all agents agree. The piece quoted a couple of agents who opted for the final days of the year between Christmas and New Year’s as the true time to invest in holiday shoppers.

But still, in a housing market that remains a challenge, an unorthodox strategy may be the lynchpin in finding the right seller for the right home.