Christmas Decorations and Selling your house…

Christmas Decorations and Selling your house…

If you are selling your house over the Christmas period, you may be wondering what to do about Christmas decorations.

Should you decorate your house as normal when selling or not?

The answer to that really depends on what decorating your house as normal means to you!  Generally speaking, we would recommend that if you are decorating your house for the Christmas period whilst you are actively marketing for sale, you do so with a subtle hand.

Christmas is a time of year when there is often more stuff in our houses than at other times of year and it is therefore a good idea to make sure that you are not presenting your property in a way which makes it look cluttered and overfull as this is almost always a turn-off for buyers. You still need to be able to show potential buyers the positive benefits of your property without them being overwhelmed by Christmas!  Read our decorating guide below if you are selling over Christmas.

Minimalism

Keeping things low-key is really the best strategy when it comes to Christmas decorations. Try to remember the ‘less is more’ maxim. Keep to a small palette of colours when it comes to things like tinsel and baubles, ideally, in colours which complement your decorations. Avoid hanging decorations from the ceilings – anything which makes your ceilings feel lower will make a room feel smaller. Any outside decorations should be tasteful and moderate.

Keep it in scale!

Keep floor standing decorations like trees in scale with your property and take care that they do not dominate the room they are in. Viewers still need to be able to visualise themselves living in your property so don’t distract them with a huge tree which overshadows everything else. If your tree is too big, it will make your room feel smaller and that is never a good thing.

Watch your space

Our homes, inevitably, play host to lots of extra things over Christmas. That may be additional furniture to accommodate more guests or presents and extra food and drink. You may even be accommodating extra people! All these take up house room and can make your place look cluttered and busy. Try and keep things like bags of gifts and extra food stocks out of sight for viewings, even if it means temporarily filling your car up whilst they take place!

Make an impact, for the right reasons!

We have said in our blog before that for all the perceived disadvantages of selling at a particular time of year, there are advantages. The time around Christmas may not present the highest number of buyers, but those who are looking tend to be highly motivated. The fact that there may be fewer properties available over Christmas does give you an advantage.

Christmas allows you to present your property in a way which makes it feel homely, cosy and inviting. Fairy lights can brighten up dark corners and create a bit of sparkle and tasteful seasonal decorations can really sell the benefits of your property as a homely and welcoming environment. If you can create an atmosphere which makes your potential buyer imagine spending Christmas in your home, it can be a great time to sell.

For help with selling – at any time of year, get in touch with your local Seddons office.

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