If you’re selling your home this winter, you’re probably in for a busy season. In between buying presents, decorating and cooking, there’s meetings with realtors, inspections and packing to be done. To shorten the process, sell quickly by staging your home right for the holidays.
Before you bust out the tinsel and the tree, check out these six tips for making your home marketable this holiday season.
1. Keep Outdoor Decorations Simple
For people that love blown-plastic figurines and giant inflatables in the yard, staging your home means dialing it back a bit. You don’t have to be a Grinch, though. Create curb appeal with a simple, colorful flag, welcome mat or door wreath. Let potential buyers get an elegant, unobstructed first impression.
2. Use Lights To Highlight Architecture
In lieu of bigger decorations, take this opportunity to step up your light game. Soft white lights around windows draw buyers’ eyes to a home’s cozy interior. A small spotlight on the door shows off how clean and inviting the porch is. If you’re feeling adventurous, string lights along the roof and eaves.
3. Don’t Overdo the Inside, Either
Whether you have a big family, are starting your own or just love the holidays, you probably have boxes and boxes of seasonal knickknacks. When a buyer comes in, you want them to imagine how they’d decorate. Give them that opportunity by keeping mantles, counters and floors relatively clear. Spread your most beloved decorations around different rooms.
4. Make Your Home Smell Nice
You’ve probably heard that a nice-smelling home sells better. In fact, a study published in the academic Journal of Retailing confirms smells influence people’s spending decisions, but like knickknacks, keep your trove of scented candles put away. Complex smells distract buyers from thinking about a purchase. Instead, introduce simple, subtle, natural smells such as baking sugar cookies, vanilla or pine.
5. Take Plenty of Photos
According to the National Association of Realtors, 90% of home buyers check online real estate listings when shopping for a home. Attractive online photos are even more important around the holidays when buyers have less time to shop around. Along with high-quality holiday photos, include some spring and summer photos to give buyers a full picture of their potential investment.
6. Get a Reliable Realtor To Help With Selling and Staging Your Home
The holidays are busy for everyone, so a reliable, energetic realtor is a must. Ask them about their holiday schedules so you won’t be left high and dry when a potential buyer comes along. With a real go-getter, you might sell your home before the new year rolls in.
From staging your home to pricing and closing, let the Lafayette Team solve all of your holiday home-selling needs in South Carolina. With over 20 combined years of real estate experience in Lexington, Lake Murray and all over the Midlands, our strategies and relationships sell homes — even during hectic holidays. Contact us today for red-carpet reality service.