Many people are inclined to postpone putting their home on the market until the holidays have passed. What an opportunity they are missing! Colder temperatures and shorter days may keep window shoppers from house hunting, but winter days will not deter serious buyers. During the holidays you’ll take advantage of fewer homes being on the market, as well as the opportunity to enhance your home’s charm.
Tempt buyers to get out of their warm cars and take a look at your home with these holiday staging strategies.
Keep the outdoor holiday decorating simple. Think green garlands, twinkling white lights, a container arrangement of natural branches and evergreens. Over-the-top holiday decorating can distract buyers from design elements of your home’s exterior.
- To prevent indoor distractions, keep the Dickens’ Village and most other holiday knickknacks packed. Rooms filled to the brim with decorations keep buyers’ eyes from focusing on the home’s features. They also make the space feel smaller. A few seasonal touches can get you in the spirit without taking over.
- When it comes to open houses, remember that attending to the ‘five senses’ will make your buyers feel at home:
- Sight – To give your room a warm, inviting glow, use amber-coloured bulbs in your table and floor lamps.
- Sound – Bring a joyful sound into your home by softly playing seasonal, instrumental music without lyrics.
- Smell – First eliminate an odor issues at the source, so that you are not masking a problem. Then fill the air with warming scents from a kettle of simmering hot apple cider garnished with orange slices, cinnamon and cloves.
- Touch – Bring out the cozy throws! Towels in the bathrooms should be soft and fluffy. A fresh teatowel on a kitchen counter will soften the cold, hard serface of granite or tile.
- Taste – On a cold winter’s day, offer buyers a square of warm gingerbread or a cup of hot spiced tea.
You don’t have to wait until peak season to put your house on the market. A flood of sellers typically enters the market in the spring, when everyone else is doing the same thing. It’s best to put your property on the market when you’re ready to sell it.
No matter what time of year you are selling, the same formula for success applies: the correct pricing strategy gets you showings, and proper staging gets you offers.
Houses do sell all year long. Taking these few extra home staging steps during the holidays can quicken your sale and lead to a happy new year!