Staging Your House for the Holidays – 6 Helpful Tips to Sell Your Home Before the New Year

With only a few weeks left in 2021 to go, you may be wondering if it's realistic to sell your house in time for the winter holidays. Well yes, of course you can. But you do need a little strategy here to attract home buyers during this time of year.

Staging a house is always a key element selling a house quickly, but it is even more so if you have a holiday deadline in mind. Here are a few proven tips to make your sale happen and fast.

 

Highlight Your Curb Appeal

When it comes to staging your home there’s no better place to start working then from the outside working in. Take in a curbside view of your home. Is the landscaping well kept? Are your trees trimmed? Have all the dead plants been removed? Is there any rotting wood throughout the trim? Or paint peeling around your home’s exterior? These are the details that are highlighted to the eye of any potential buyer. And if there is one thing home buyers today want, it’s to purchase a move in ready home.

Updated landscaping is one of the most cost-effective ways to boost your home’s appeal. Take the time to replace those dead plants, shrubs, flowers, and trees and trim plants that need it. Keep your front yard walkway swept, mowed, and raked.

Freshen up that peeling paint and rotting wood trim. When was the last time those gutters had a cleaning? Think of anything that needs fixing and get it fixed now. A house with a disheveled or dilapidated exterior will be crossed off most home buyers’ lists before even going inside to have a look at the property’s interior.

Let it Shine

With the clocks turned back and it being dark as early as 5 o’clock in the afternoon, light is an essential component to staging your home during this time of year. Ample lighting should be one of your top priorities if you plan on selling your home in the winter. And with the holiday season in play, this doesn’t have to be an expensive investment.

Twinkling lights around and throughout the home bring a warm and neutral holiday environment to life in your home and help provide a sufficient light source throughout the property. Plus, you can take these lights with you and use them in your next home. Instead of investing in expensive ceiling fixtures and outdoor flood lighting.

Keep it Simple but Significant

Whether you’re a true Cindy Lou Who or a grumpy Grinch during the holiday season decorating your home for the holidays is another essential element to selling your house before ringing in the new year. But you don't have to go overboard doing it. You can begin outside by filling outdoor pots with greens, branches, and pinecones. This adds a nice warm welcoming touch to your home and makes a great first impression. Inside your home, consider adding evergreen boughs and bows. Something neutral and tastefully themed for winter. You can also use fruits like pomegranates, apples, pears and lemons to decorate by placing them among evergreens in a bowl or along a mantle for a stylish and natural touch that also smells delicious.'

Hide the Presents

Since many families, just like yours, have their own traditions as far as displaying gifts in the home during the holiday season, it may not have crossed our mind about what to do with the gifts during this selling process. Even though seeing all those cheerfully wrapped presents under your tree brings joy to your loved ones, it can make the home feel too in-personal and difficult for the potential buyer to imagine their own family in the home. Best practice when selling your home during the holidays is to always tuck the gifts away for those that won’t be receiving any of them.

Holiday Staging Makes You Merry

There’s a reason why a good portion of the population finds themselves hanging up their holiday lights the day after Halloween every year. It simply makes people happier. Psychologist, Deborah Serani confirmed that decorating your home for the holidays can lift your mood.

"It does create that neurological shift that can produce happiness," she said. "I think anything that takes us out of our normal habituation, the normal day in, day out ... signals our senses, and then our senses measure if it's pleasing or not."

"Christmas decorating will spike dopamine, a feel-good hormone," Serani added.

Keep Your Check Book Balanced

Finally, while the decorative aspects of home staging are important, they won't do much for you in your home selling jourey if your home is unfairly priced. Dan Beaulieu, Real Estate Expert & Founder of Burlington House Buyers, points out that an overly high price will push away all the potential buyers as no one is looking for negotiable prices in this small window of time. There is already enough to budget for during this season. So, be realistic about your asking price. 

If you put up a price that buyers find realistic, affordable, and competitive, you're more likely to recieve several offers, increasing your opportunity to sell at a fair price. Comparing your home with other similar properties on the market can help you assess a fair price, which can trigger the sale to be completed much faster.

Tis' the Season

With all these helpful tips at your disposal, it's completely reasonable to sell your home in time for the new year. So, don't wait and get the latter and lights out. Because it's time to dress your home in spirit of the holiday season and get your house sold in time for a new year and a fresh new start.

Working with a home lender for your next home? You should be. Let sellers nkow you're serious about home buying and get your finances in order today. Contact Dan Hunt for all your mortage needs. 

 

* Specific loan program availability and requirements may vary. Please get in touch with the mortgage advisor for more information.