Tips of the Trade: Should I Decorate for Holidays if My Home is For Sale

Here it is, almost the fourth quarter of the year and the holiday season has begun.  Whether you have Halloween decorations or stick with the generic fall decorations, you’ve likely already put those out on display.  If you have your house for sale or you know you’ll be putting it on the market in the next month or so, then you may have decided to opt-out this year, but is that the best thing to do?  Me and my non-realtor friends say no way!  If your house is or is about to be for sale, then you should have been the first one on the street to decorate.  Watch this quick video to find out why!

I really think that if done right, decorations can make your home more cozy and help you appeal to more buyers.  As I mentioned in the video, when decorating, keep HOLIDAY in your mind, because this year, you are decorating to SELL!

Highlight Home Features:  Find the focal point in your home and put some lipstick on it in the form of decorations.  For example, if you have a floor to ceiling, brick fireplace with a large hearth, make sure people see it but don’t cover it up. 

 Odor Isn’t a Bad Thing: To me, very few things smell “homey” to me like the smell of fall and Christmas.  When I walk into my mom and dad’s, it just smells like home with her plug ins that are wafting the latest pumpkin spice or spruce pine flavor.  So grab some plug ins and use scents that represent the season.  Just don’t go overboard placing them in every room.  Put one in each of the main walkways and call it a day.  If the hallway is too close to the living room, then pick one or the other.  My advice…put one close to the door with the lockbox so buyers immediately feel at home when they walk in the door.   This is an endorsement in opinion only and I have not been paid, but my favorite plug ins are the Bath and Body Works Wallflowers.  The have the best scents for EVERY occasion and they are an eye catcher in themselves!! 

Less Is More:  Like with the smelly things, less is more when it comes to decorations.  Don’t go crazy with wall to wall Christmas in every single room.  Decorate a mantle here or a table there.  Just enough to make your home feel cozy and make potential buyers picture themselves spending Christmas there for years to come.  

Include An Eye Catcher: Grab potential buyers’ attention with a decoration that will make them ooohhhh and aaahhhh and, more importantly, will make them remember your house.  Maybe it’s one of those glass Christmas trees that light up that many of us had as kids or the beautiful Thanksgiving centerpiece on your dining room table.  You know, the ones that are Pinterest worthy!

Don’t Forget the Outside: Ok, I’m putting my foot down on a couple of things here…the giant inflatables and the gore and scary that Halloween has to offer.  Just Say NO!!!  Instead, use a tasteful display of hay bails with flowers and jack-o-lanterns by the front door or steps.  For Christmas, not only do you need to stay away from giant inflatables, but keep your inner Clark Griswold hidden until you’re in a home that is not for sale, LOL!  A simple Christmas light display is fine, but don’t go crazy. 

Appeal To the Masses: Back to the gore and scary…while you may have a great appreciation for blood and guts or spiders, not everyone does.  In fact, I would say many do not…especially when they are house hunting.  So consider what the majority of people like and go with it.  If there is a doubt in your mind that something may be too over the top, don’t use it.  Here are some examples of what not to do:

Ya’ll Need To Ask Your Realtor: Your Realtor should be knowledgeable in the world of do’s and don’ts when it comes to staging a home for sale and those do’s and don’ts apply to holiday staging as well.  Go ahead and decorate, but have your Realtor stop by to give approval so you know you’re not hurting your chances of getting your home sold.  

The other reason to talk to your Realtor is because they may have some good ideas on how to market your home around your decorations.  One strategy  I like to use is to snap some pics of the decorations and use those in the marketing of the property in MLS, on our website, and on our Facebook page.  I also like to take advantage of this time of year to be creative with my listing copy.   Take a look at how I incorporated the Fall season into the marketing for 545 Shadow Lane in Lyman.  I even took some of my own fall decorations out to help jazz it up a bit…and it’s not the first time that has happened 🙂  

One last side note on the holidays and having your home for sale.  Many of you will be wrapping presents as we go into the Christmas season and my wonder how to handle your “wrapping stations” or presents under the tree.  MY ADVICE:  As long as your “wrapping station” is nice and neat and not hiding features of your home, then you can leave it out in the open.  If you walk into a room and that’s all you see, then put it away every time you are done wrapping, so potential buyers don’t see it.   As for presents under the tree, again, if they are placed nice and neat, great.  If they take up half the room, then maybe store them in a closet (NEATLY!) for showings so they don’t steal the show(ing).