Showing your Home During the Holidays
With Christmas season in full swing, you’re probably dividing your free time between madly shopping and decking your halls. But if you have your home on the market, how can you bring a little festive cheer without turning off potential buyers?
The key is moderation. Christmas decorations can make your home look its best, with their coordinated colours, shiny accents, and cheerful mood. They can also send out a siren call to go overboard, filling up every single flat surface with whatever cute little doodad you can find, either at the store or in your child’s backpack coming home from school. Resist! A little coordination and restraint goes a long way. Next year, when you’re in your new property, you can go full Griswald.
That goes for the outside too. By all means, string some lights, but try to go with a consistent theme: if you’re using a string of multi-coloured lights, go with that over the whole house instead of alternating with solid white or blue strings just because you found them in the garage. In fact, hiring a professional might be well worth the money to give your home the absolute best holiday curb appeal.
Using an artificial tree will also save you a tonne of clean-up time before each viewing. While the natural pine scent is an appealing signifier of Christmas, it comes along with a whole lot of stubborn needles.
Beyond decorations, do whatever you can to make viewing your property convenient for potential buyers. Time is in short supply for everyone in December, so try to be flexible. Maybe consider hiding presents, wrapping, and so on at a relative’s place to free up closet and storage space. Bumping up the heat a little, and having some homemade gingerbread cookies on offer, can also go a long way toward cozying things up.
Finally, if you really want to sell your property in December, make sure your Realtor is dedicated to the same outcome: that means being available to you when needed, not just when it’s convenient. Have a candid conversation with your agent to be sure you’re on the same page.
Want more tips on selling? Check out our Sellers Guide! Looking for a dedicated Realtor? Contact us!
Tags: 2014 christmas, calgary alberta real estate, calgary real estate, christmas decoration, christmas lights, deck the halls, listing home at christmas time, selling real estate
