Selling your home during the holidays can be a little tricky, especially if you love decorating. But don’t let that dampen your holiday spirit. Instead of taking your home off the market during the holidays, use these tips to create a festive, yet buyer-friendly home.
Stage your home first
Your ultimate goal is to sell your home so its important you begin by staging your home. Start by decluttering and depersonalize your home. Remove and store extra furniture to keep pathways and sight lines clear. Focus on rooms in order of importance: living room, master bedroom, kitchen, then any remaining rooms. Ideally, you’ll create a neutral slate that allows buyers to picture themselves and their belongings in the home.
Avoid overdecorating
Now you can start to decorating! But show some restraint: you want the buyers to remain focused on your home, not distracted by your holiday decorations. Strike a balance between honoring your holiday traditions and creating a simple and elegant decorating scheme. Instead of displaying your entire holiday collection, chose a few of your favorite pieces to accentuate your home’s best features. If you have a fireplace, decorate it with garland and hang a stocking or two.
You’ll want to depersonalized your decorations just like you did your home décor. Skip displaying greeting cards and personalized or homemade ornaments.
Choose a tree carefully
If you celebrate with a tree, choose one that’s an appropriate size for the room. You don’t want to make a room look or feel smaller than it is!
Think in motifs
Instead of decorating with Santas, elves, or snowmen, consider decorating in seasonal motifs and colors. Choose decorations that compliment your home’s look and feel. Seasonal greenery like wreaths or garlands and modern color accents like metallics are great options.
Hide the presents
Secure your home and belongings by keeping wrapped presents out of view. The last thing you want to do is risk having someone with sticky fingers making off with your gifts, especially during an open house. If you like the look of presents under the tree, consider wrapping a few empty boxes.
Curb appeal still matters
Don’t forget to decorate outside if you normally do. Stay away from inflatable decorations or large light displays. Stick with simple light displays and a wreath on the door. Be sure to keep the walkway clear of snow.
You may be selling your home, but it’s still the holidays so you should still enjoy this special time of year, especially if it’ll be your last holiday in your home. Enjoy each moment and capture the memories your family will make here as you prepare for your next chapter in your new home.
When you’re ready to buy a new home, we’re here to help. We have several communities in the most desirable neighborhoods throughout Chicagoland. Visit us at LexingtonChicago.com to learn more about our new home communities and find your dream home today.
