To decorate, or not to decorate, that is the question. 🎅🏽

Although the holidays can be seen as the best time of the year by many, things definitely do get complicated when you are thinking of selling your home heading into the holidays. One of the questions I’ve been asked at all of my listing evaluations this week is “can we decorate the home if we have it for sale?” And the best answer is actually a two part response.

For the most part, brokers may tell you that the home should not have any christmas decorations, as you want to keep it open and available to all buyers, nationalities and religions. My answer differs slightly, but this is what Groupe Baronello suggest for those listing their home towards the holiday season:

Yes, you can and should decorate your home during the holiday seasons, but you MUST wait until the pictures have been taken. Although most brokers tell you differently, visiting a home in November, December and early January that is decorated for the holidays definitely hits differently and creates a great “homey” vibe for the potential buyers of your property. They may not follow the same religion as you, but the spirit of the holidays is something international and shared by everyone. Having the christmas wreath on the front door, the smell of hot chocolate brewing through the main floor and stockings hanging from the fireplaces creates a vision for most buyers of the perfect holiday season, and the first step to making an offer on a home is being able to envision your family in said home. Take advantage of creating an aura for your potential buyers by staging the home as the perfect holiday cozy spot.

 As for photography – we do suggest you wait until the professional pictures are done to decorate your home for one simple reason, not everyone home sells within 30-60 days. If your home is listed with christmas pictures, then you’d have to re-take photography once the holidays are over to make sure people don’t get the idea that your home has been listed for too long. As this may be a nuisance for most home sellers we do suggest that you let the photographer do his thing before turning your house into a christmas wonderland.

Working with the right team of brokers is definitely the first step to getting your home sold, no matter what the time of year may be. Focus on your families goals and let us take care of the rest!

Wishing all of our readers a happy holiday season!