There are lots of benefits to selling a home during the holidays.
There’s usually less competition as most people don’t want to deal with the hassle of having their home on the market at this time.
Buyers are a lot more motivated as well. Anyone who has the time to go house shopping in December definitely needs a house!
Plus you get a lot of decorating opportunities with your listings that aren’t available during the rest of the year.
Here’s a quick guide to getting your listings ready to make a great impression this Christmas.
1) Clean and Organize
There’s absolutely no point decorating if the home is a mess. This is important no matter what time of the year it is.
During the holidays however it’s very easy to let the mess pile up. Make sure presents are hidden away and wrapping paper and supplies are put away as well.
You need to be sure to communicate to the sellers that it’s imperative to clean and organize before starting to decorate.
2) Fix Up the Exterior
Once autumn hits and the leaves fall from the trees imperfections on the exterior of the home stand out much more.
Go over the exterior and make sure paint is touched up, the gutters are cleaned and the yard looks great.
It’s probably best to do these jobs in the fall before it gets too cold.
During the winter make sure the walkways are clear of snow and ice as well.
3) Complement the Style of the Home with Your Decorations
When decorating you want to make sure that you don’t take away from the style and feel of the home.
Try to match your decorations to the existing style of the home. All your holiday decorations should blend in with the property, not distract from it.
On more traditional homes avoid modern decorations.
Avoid clashing colours. Don’t use a lot of red in a blue or grey room for example, try something like silver or white decorations instead.
If a room is painted with earth tones then that’s perfect for wreaths or green nature themed decorations.
4) Keep Your Decorating Simple and Avoid Anything Controversial
Your decorating should enhance the property, not distract from it. Therefore it’s best to keep things as simple as possible.
A wreath or some candles might be more than enough.
If you’re going to use a Christmas tree keep the decorations on the tree to a minimum. Make sure the tree itself doesn’t take up too much space either. You still want the room to feel spacious and open.
Avoid any religious themed decorations just to be safe. You don’t want to offend or alienate any potential buyers.
Definitely avoid anything tacky or commercial as well. This isn’t the time for a giant inflatable Santa Claus.
5) Use Inviting Smells
The holidays gives you some unique opportunities to play with smells.
You want the property to be as inviting as possible, especially if people are coming in out of the cold.
Smells like freshly baked cookies are fantastic.
You could also use a diffuser with essential oils like pinewood as well.
Try to avoid just buying a holiday scented air freshener though. It’ll smell fake and you can do a much better job.
6) Use Music but Don’t Go Overboard
Definitely use music as well during the holidays.
Having some quiet and gentle classical music or instrumental Christmas carols will definitely help create a cozy feeling in the home.
Don’t go too crazy though. Keep the music quiet and it’s probably best to just play instrumental music without lyrics. Especially with holiday songs.
In Conclusion
Emotion is a very powerful tool when it comes to selling a home.
If you do a great job decorating your listings for the holidays you can help potential buyers imagine themselves celebrating the holidays there in the future.
Just my making a few touches you can make the property feel much more cozy and inviting.
You only get one chance a year to prepare your listings like this so be sure you take advantage of it!
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