Selling Your Home During the Holidays

There may be no busier time of year than the holidays. With all the preparations, decorating, baking, gift buying and wrapping and holiday parties to attend, many home sellers decide to take their home off the market during the holiday season.

If you are serious about getting your home sold, you should realize that this is actually a great time to sell your home. You may think you should take your home off the market because there are fewer buyers out at this time of year. That is true, however, those buyer who are out home shopping during the holidays are very serious buyers. During slack time in the market, the less serious buyers drop out. So show your home now to those serious buyers, especially as at this time of year they have fewer homes to choose from, lessening your competition.

Here are some suggestions should you decide to continue marketing your home over the holidays. When it comes to holiday decorations, less is more.  Put up your tree, hang a wreath and the stockings and give your home that general holiday glow, but don't go overboard. You want potential buyers to feel that your home is a warm and welcoming place where they can envision themselves enjoying holidays in the future, but you don't want so many decorations that your home begins to look smaller than it really is because every nook and cranny has a decoration.  Keep it simple, but pretty.

Put out some candy canes or a plate of cookies. Better yet, bake some cookies just before the buyers arrive and leave some on a plate with a note for them to help themselves. Not only will the buyers remember that your home is the one where they got the treats (a real plus if there are children) but they will also remember that your home is the one that smelled so good.

Display some photos of your home and yard taken during the summer and fall. Let buyers see how pretty it is all year round. Be sure the driveway is plowed and the sidewalks are shoveled. Don't forget to shovel by the side doors, the garage and decks. It's fine to have sleds, toboggans and that sort of thing visible as it will reinforce the idea that your home is fun. Just be sure they are leaning against the side of the garage or the side of the house and aren't where someone will trip over them.

Make sure boots, coats, gloves, scarves and all those other cold weather items are placed neatly in the mud room or coat closet. Provide a welcome mat for people to wipe their feet as buyers sometimes feel awkward about tracking through people's homes.

Having your home on the market during the holidays does not meant that you have to let people into your home no matter what. If you are planning a holiday party or having out-of-town guests, simply let your agent know in advance that you need to block out that period of time.

The holidays are a great time to sell your home if you make it available - everyone is in a celebratory mood, you have less competition and the buyers are serious. Happy Holidays!

#sellingyourhomeduringtheholidays #sellingyourhomeinthewinter

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Rose Sawyer
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