Are you looking to sell your home over the holidays? Although the holidays are not considered the most lucrative time to sell your home, that doesn’t mean you can’t work things out to your advantage.
We’ve compiled a list of the pros and cons of selling your home during the holidays, as well as how to best stage your home during the festive season to impress buyers. Hopefully, this will help inform you going forward so you can best strategize for your home sale.
The Pros And Cons Of Selling Your Home During The Holidays
Traditionally, spring is known as the best time to sell your home. In general, home sales decrease in the winter months, especially around the holidays. People usually like to travel, see family, and focus on celebrating the season. As a result, a major con of a winter sale is that the holiday season is a buyer’s market, opposed to a seller’s. This means that you probably won’t end up in a bidding war. There will likely be fewer offers on your home, and lower, than if you were selling at a different time.
However, the pros of selling during the holidays is that there likely won’t be much competition on the market from other sellers. Because most people don’t look for a new home during the holidays, those buyers who are will be more serious and eager. Those who are searching for a new house over the holidays need one because of their unique circumstances, like a job transfer, for example. Buyers have the motivation to buy a new home, and quickly, and your property just might be it.
If you price your home right, and stage it properly, you could attract the perfect buyer even over the holidays.
6 Tips On How To Stage Your Home During The Holidays
We’ve already compiled some advice about how to prepare and stage your home for sale but this will look slightly different if you plan to sell your home over the holidays. Because it’s the holiday season, you will probably want to acknowledge this in your home décor. However, you don’t want to go overboard. Any decorations should be minimal so your home looks spacious and not cluttered. You don’t want to hide or overwhelm any of your home’s attractive and valuable features. Remember that buyers should be able to imagine putting their own belongings into your space.
Learn about 6 ways you can stage your home to impress buyers over the holiday season.
#1: Nail That First Impression
First impressions are key when you’re hoping to impress a potential buyer. Since the front door is often the first thing the buyer will see, start with your décor there. Give a nod to the holidays with an attractive wreath or a swag. The next thing the buyer will likely see is the front entryway. Stage the front entrance with a tasteful seasonal arrangement. Aim to make the buyer feel like they’re arriving home for the holidays, not just touring another generic, open house.
#2: Let There Be Light
Since daylight hours are short during the winter months, and especially during the holidays, make sure that your outdoor lights are functioning properly. Ensure that the walkway and front door is lit up, cheerful and welcoming. This is especially important for evening viewings. Also, if you’re going to hang up seasonal light displays, make sure it’s simple and tasteful. Unfortunately, this means that Santa, Frosty, and the light-up reindeer should stay in the garage this year. Instead, opt for a lovely string of white lights to highlight a certain part of the house or a tree in the yard.
#3: Find Tasteful Holiday Decorations
Just because you should keep your home staging decorations simple doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in a bit of holiday décor. Just remember to not go overboard. You don’t want to obscure an important selling feature like the fireplace mantel or stairs. If you plan to get a Christmas tree, don’t buy a 10-footer this year. Try something more modest, or even a table-top version. Consider placing wrapped presents in a corner or closet. Try to stay away from overtly religious displays since you want people to imagine themselves making your home their own. You don’t want to risk putting anyone off.
Some tasteful holiday decorations can look like a bowl of fragrant pinecones or some shiny glass baubles, some cheerful greenery, or some strategically placed sprigs of holly. Allow your decorations to make your property feel comfy and homey. Create an emotional connection for the buyers so they can imagine they’re coming home for the holidays.
#4: Aim For A Neutral Colour Palette
Christmas tree ornaments can be bright and fun and hold a lot of sentimental value to you. However, they may also clash with the rest of your home décor. As a result, you should probably keep them packed away this year and opt for something more neutral for the sake of home staging. What is your home’s colour palette? Find ornaments that complement it. If you have white walls, consider getting a faux white tree. If the room has a darker colour palette, try green or gold accents.
#5: Create A Warm, Cozy Atmosphere
One of the best things about the winter season is coming out of the cold outdoors and being welcomed by a cozy warm house. Create this atmosphere for your potential buyers. Consider turning up the thermostat a couple degrees. If you have a fireplace, by all means, make sure it’s lit for open houses, showings, and staged photos. The goal is to create a memorable, warm, and cozy atmosphere that will attract buyers.
#6: Create A Holiday Fragrance
Don’t be afraid to create a holiday atmosphere with memorable, pleasing scents. There’s nothing like simmering apple cider on the stove or a delicious batch of ginger cookies fresh out of the oven to emulate the holiday season. You can even put a plate of the cookies on the counter and cups for the apple cider in the kitchen for your guests. Or you could (sparingly) spritz some winter-scented fragrance throughout the house or put on a diffuser with some wintry essential oil.
Conclusion
The holidays may not be the most common time to sell a home, but you can certainly work it to your advantage. We hope these tips on how to sell your home during the holidays and how to stage your house for potential buyers have been helpful.
