The holiday season is a very busy time of the year, but November through January can be a quiet time for home sales. As families plan vacations, host holiday gatherings, and brace for colder weather home shopping is often put on the back burner. But there are still hearty souls willing to brave the snow and frigid temperatures and shop for a home. These buyers are motivated. You will appeal to their earnest nature (leading to a timely and efficient sale) by keeping your home clean, your landscape maintained, and your holiday decorations to a minimum, decluttering and depersonalizing.
You can take additional steps to make prospective buyers feel welcome in your home. A simple refreshment table with holiday treats and tasteful seasonal holiday décor will work in your favor, while fifteen foot dancing inflatable yard reindeer will probably not. Here are some tips for selling during the holiday season.
Deck the Halls (with modest reservation)
Simple Seasonal Décor: New Englanders start adding layers to their outfits when the colder weather of the holiday season returns. Layering is also a great way to add decorative warmth to the rooms of your home. You can utilize throw pillows and blankets in your holiday décor color scheme. Choose your patterns wisely, and refrain from overusing holiday specific patterns. Plaids are great pattern choices to incorporate both in the fall and in the winter. Creating spaces in a home that any potential buyer can imagine themselves living in is always the goal when staging the rooms of your home.
Greenery: You can add greenery to your home without going overboard. Garlands and wreaths are nice holiday touches without overselling the season. If you are still living in your home and will have a Christmas tree on display choose a smaller tree this year. A large tree will take up space and dwarf the size of the room. Additionally, it is best to decorate a tree with fewer personal ornaments. Remember that depersonalizing your living spaces is an important component when staging your home for selling.
Hot Cocoa & Cookies: Talk with your seller’s agent and consider setting up a hot beverage station for viewings. Offering a warm cup of cocoa, coffee or cider will help potential buyers shake off the cold when they arrive at your home. And a holiday cookie will bring a smile to their faces. When properly outfitted with a warm beverage and cookie, buyers will feel welcome and take the time to explore all the best features of your home in delicious comfort.
Holiday Pricing
Work with a Qualified Seller’s Agent: We certainly don’t want you to sell your home for less than market value. A qualified seller’s agent will help you to price your home for the holiday season. Winter home buyers tend to be more serious. You can cash in on an expedient sale by setting a reasonable price upfront. It will be a holiday treat for both buyer and seller when a home is priced correctly. Buyers won’t need to wait around for incremental decreases in the listing price and can act accordingly. Sellers will sell their homes quickly and efficiently and enjoy the wonder and merriment of the season with money in the bank.
Holiday Curb Appeal
Curb Appeal & Safety: The first thing potential buyers will see when visiting your home is the yard, porch, and entry. It is important to rake leaves and maintain your landscaping in the fall. In the winter it is very important to keep walkways and porch steps shoveled and free of snow for the safety of those visiting your home. A simple door wreath is an elegant touch and might be all the adornment your well maintained property needs to commemorate the holiday season.
Snow & Dirt: Setting up a large holiday area throw rug just inside the front door will help keep snow from being tracked into your house. After wiping away snow and dirt on the welcome mat, shoes will have time to dry when visitors slow down to enjoy a holiday cookie and hot beverage from the refreshment table you cleverly placed in the foyer. Additionally, we can provide complimentary disposable shoe covers for visitors.
Inflatable Holiday Yard Decorations: While tall, dancing colorful inflatables might gather the attention needed to bring customers into a car dealership, we don’t usually see similar value in inflatable holiday decorations when selling your home. We would advise our clients to refrain from overdecorating, and not include large and garish holiday displays in their landscapes or inside their homes. But every market is different. We take everything into consideration, including your neighborhood and local traditions. We can’t completely rule out the value of a fifteen foot inflatable holiday red-nosed reindeer, but your money is usually better spent elsewhere.
Every real estate market is different. Working with a trusted seller’s agent from Barrett Sotheby’s International Realty is the perfect way to move forward with the staging, marketing, and selling of your home in the Greater Boston area this holiday season. We look forward to helping you with all of your real estate needs. Contact us today!