Holiday decorating when you’re selling and showing your home
Timing is everything, and no one knows that better than a homeowner who puts their property on the market in November and December.
If you normally decorate your home for your favorite fall holidays, keeping things festive can be a little tricky when your Realtor® is also scheduling showings and holding open houses. However, you shouldn’t have to forego the warmth and tradition that you and your family love. Some carefully chosen decorations can be inviting and can help potential buyers see your home as the place where they want to be. Since buyers tend to be more serious now than at other times of the year, showing off the property, rather than the decorations, is more important than ever.
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you decorate your on-the-market home, so you can get the listing sorted and still enjoy the season:
Keep it simple
Your home is the star of this production, so anything you add should enhance its value. This is good advice any time of year, so you can leave room for potential buyers to imagine themselves (and their stuff) in your space. For the same reasons, you may also want to keep your personal expressions a little more neutral than usual, keeping religious and political items to a minimum during this time. It’s still your home, but you want prospective buyers to imagine what they could do with these rooms.
Consider toning things down this year
If you tend to “go big” with decor during the holidays, this might be a good year to scale it back a bit, so visitors can appreciate the architecture, the spaces, and the natural light in your home. Otherwise, they may just see the things that you’re not selling, and all that personal style will end up being counterproductive.
Work with your year-round palette
Working seasonal decor into what is already in your home can do much to enhance your spaces and make your home feel cozy, without covering everything up in colors that are only relevant for a month or so. With that in mind, placing focus on decorations that are elegant and understated can be a good way to go. If you’re not sure about colors, metallics can be very useful: gold, silver, or copper elements can make things sparkle and bring in a lot of warmth, without adding an overwhelming wall of color.
Easy on the lights and displays
White string lights can highlight your home’s architectural features without offering too much distraction, and this might be a good year for the 12-foot inflatable Frosty to take a nap. (He can wake up in a new home next year!) Just as above, large items and piles of lights can overwhelm your spaces, indoors and outdoors. Let your home shine with just a little help, and buyers will find it easier to see the property’s inherent specialness.
Stash the gifts and heirlooms
Like any time of year, this is a good time to keep gifts and special items out of sight during open houses and showings. This is important for safety and security, both to prevent trip-and-fall disasters and to protect your belongings. Consider locking gifts in your car trunk while your home is on display, so prospective buyers can still have viewing access to storage areas and experience the spaciousness of what we hope is their new dream home.
Scents count!
Don’t forget fragrance when hosting an open house or preparing for a showing. While candles and open flames aren’t advisable, a fire-safe warmer or a recently baked loaf of pumpkin bread can add a light but lingering element that buyers may not even be conscious of… but it will support an impression of warmth and coziness that they’ll remember.
Bottom line
You certainly don’t have to strip down your traditions to nothing, and final decisions are, of course, up to you. But moderating your decor plans for a season of selling can reap serious benefits, while still leaving reminders for you and your family of how much your holidays mean to you. Being conscious of how others will experience your spaces while it’s listed will help you find a plan that works for this year, and hopefully next year you can do just what you want in your new home!
