Who said all the holiday decorations have to go when you're trying to sell a house? Bring some holiday cheer to your listings this season
Nobody wants to be the Grinch who stole Christmas but when you’re trying to sell a home, too much holiday spirit can turnoff some potential buyers. Buyers are there to look at the house and all of its wonderful features, not tippy-toe over the giant blow-up Santa impeding the front door or squint to see the roof over the nine reindeer poised upon it.
But before you stick a needle in your seller’s inflatable Santa, some real estate and staging professionals say home owners can still add a few decorations for the holidays when selling a home and don’t assume buyers won’t appreciate it too. Holiday decor can lighten moods and warm up interiors, so you don’t have to swear it off completely because you’re afraid of offending those who don’t celebrate, they say.
Betty Cunningham with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Schaumburg, Ill., says showing homes in the Midwest during the winter can be challenging enough, so to spice things up during the winter months she encourages her clients to decorate for the holidays. She’ll even provide guidance on how.
“Isn’t it nice to open the front door and see lights and the Christmas music playing with some cinnamon smells welcoming you? It just says ‘welcome, come in and stay awhile,’” Cunningham says.
6 Principles to Holiday Staging
The key to holiday decorating is to keep the decor high quality and color-coordinated, says June Lizotte with June Lizotte Real Estate in Milwaukie, Ore.
If you plan on staging a home for the holidays, here are some important things to keep in mind.
1. Don’t overdo the holiday cheer.
When Santas start to outnumber the rooms in the house, you may want to start being more selective in what you display.
“If it is ‘cute,’ it stays packed,” says Joanne O’Donnell, president and CEO of Chic Home Interiors, who offers holiday staging services. “Cute is not a universal concept and the surest way to avoid trouble is to keep it simple and elegant.”
The same staging principles apply during the holidays: Don’t overwhelm the space with clutter.
