For families whose house move spans over the (US) winter holidays, they often wonder about staging in the winter. Should you stage your home during the holidays, or should you just take your home off the market?
It may be tempting (and less work) to not think about showing your home for sale during the holidays. But consider this…houses sell during every day of the year, even over the holidays. But if some families take their home off the market, then your chances are potentially better during the “slow season,” because you’ll still be marketing to the existing pool of buyers. Home staging during Christmas holidays should definitely be part of your plan.
Yes, we think of spring being the hot time for home sales, but for people who are transferred for work, divorcing, looking for their dream home before the new baby arrives, just came into inheritance money, or any number of other situations, your home may be the perfect home for them. Houses sell all the time! Research shows the homes that sell fastest and for the most money are the ones that are staged.
If your home is for sale heading into the holidays, create a strategy with your realtor to double down on marketing. Staging during the holidays is often part of that marketing plan. The photos in this post show a home we staged just after Thanksgiving that had sat empty for over 6 months. The home sold in just weeks, with a confirmed offer in December that closed during the first week in February. Time staged? Five weeks.
Showing a turnkey home with furnishings showed off all the square footage in this large condo. Before, all there was to focus on was outdated parquet flooring. Staging during the holidays was definitely part of the strategy that turned this stale listing into a winner for a lucky buyer. Props go to Diane Nelson Blass, the realtor who refused to let this property just sit over the holidays.
If you are living in your home while it’s listed over the holidays, don’t be afraid to decorate, but don’t overdo it. Folks expect to see some holiday decorations.
Holiday Staging Do’s-
Decorate with a tasteful wreath or tree if that’s your tradition.
Feel free to stick with traditional or contemporary color schemes, as long as they compliment your decor.
Continue to display family traditions, like advent calendars, but perhaps just one or two.
Continue to keep your home neat and ready for showings.
Holiday Staging Don’ts-
Don’t go for oversized decorations in small spaces.
Don’t decorate every room in the house. Stick with decorating main common areas.
Don’t put decorations in front of key features, like fireplaces, obscuring their view.
Don’t take listing photographs when holiday decorations are up.
What about the outside? If you are a gardener, you might be interested in a recent You Bet Your Garden radio show where the host, Mike McGrath, discusses whether you can take your plants when you move. The episode is called Don’t Pack Your Landscape, which might give you a bead on his answer.
Staging is a powerful marketing tool, not a gimmick. Eighty percent of the population admits that they can’t see how a room could be set up until they see it in person. Help your buyers see your home as the dream home they’ve always wanted. Call us to professionally stage your home today.
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