Selling Your Home During the Holidays? Easy on the Decorations!

Trying to sell your home during the holidays is not easy!  We tend to get busier, more stressed, and the last thing we need is strangers examining our home, right?  Well, this year you may want to do a little less decorating but a little higher quality of the decorating you do!  Professionals say holiday decoration can brighten our moods and make a home look warm and cozy and welcoming.  There are a few rules to holiday staging so keep these in mind:

Acccording to June Lizotte with June Lizotte Real Estate in Milwaukie, OR, the key is to use high quality and color coordinated décor.

1. Don’t overdo the holiday cheer. Joanne O’Donnell of Chic Homes Interiors says, “If it is cute, it stays packed. Cute is not a universal concept and the surest way to avoid trouble is to keep it simple and elegant.” Don’t overwhelm the space with clutter. It is recommended by real estate pro Tony Lynn Wallitsch with Alliance Real Estate and Ross Designs LLC in Omaha, Nebraska, that for every holiday decor that is put on display something that is usually out should be temporarily put away to avoid over-decorating. Remember that you want buyers to see a home and picture themselves living in it with their things - make it easier for them to do that by keeping rooms as clutter-free as possible.

2. Add holiday colors. Psychology research has shown us all that warm colors can increase excitement and energy so bring on the red even if in a few throw pillows or a blanket. Greenery from the yard can be used on mantels or in natural centerpieces, O’Donnell says, and she likes bows and ribbons on candles, wreaths, and basket handles. Use similar color palettes from room to room.

3. Alert the senses. O’Donnell recommends putting mulling spices or cider in a pot for great holiday scents and Betty Cunningham, with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Schaumburg, Ill., likes seasonal candles, oils, potpourri in pine or fresh-baked cookie scents. She also gives CDs to her clients for showings - mostly instrumental and soft holiday music. A 2005 study by Eric R. Spangenberg, Bianca Grohmann and David E. Sprott, Journal of Business Research (Vol. 58, Issue 11) showed the presence of Christmas scent with non-Christmas music lowered buyers’ perceptions but Christmas music and Christmas scent had a favorable buying response.

4. Keep the tree simple, yet elegant. Wallitsch suggests if your tree is larger than six feet, remove a piece or two of furniture to eliminate a crowded feeling. Keep the very personal ornaments toward the back of the tree or packed up for next year. If possible, hang ornaments of one basic color palette and show pieces mixed in both on tips of branches as well as inside tree.

5. Give the right holiday impression with curb appeal. White lights, preferably non-blinking, are favorites among stagers and realtors. Because your home is usually shown in the day, use tasteful decorations that work well day and night. A wreath on the front door makes a huge impression - keep it clean and in good shape. You may want to take a photo of the home at night to use for marketing purposes!

6. Remove all décor immediately after Christmas! We all have bad impressions when we see homes with lights still hanging in July! Those decorations you pack away by New Year’s Eve (yes!) will hopefully be in a new home with you next Christmas!

 

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