The holiday season is known to bring warmth and cheer to everyone, so you might think that decorating your home would make it feel extra bright and welcoming for potential buyers—but professionals will tell you NOT to decorate your home until all of the listing’s photos have been taken. They might sound like the Grinch, they have some valid points you should take into consideration…
#1 – It Will Date Your Listing
We all hope for a quick sell, but in reality (especially if you’re listing your home in the middle of the busiest time of the year) your home will likely sit on the market for an average of 65 days. Taking your photos with your home all decorated for Christmas means that a buyer looking at it in January would know the listing is already old.
You want your photos to be as professional, fresh, and timeless as possible.
#2 – It Will Shrink Your Square Footage
Perhaps one of the first words that comes to mind when you enter a home fully decked-out for the holiday season is “cozy”. Cozy is wonderful for your family home—it means its warm, safe, and comforting. But, for a stranger entering a home that they’d like to call their own, it typically puts them off and makes the house feel small and untidy. All of the decorations and pine needles give the home a very lived-in and disorderly feel while they also shield part of the home and don’t allow the buyer to get an accurate feel for the space and its size.
#3 – It Will Be Too You
When a buyer walks into your decorated home filled with your personalized Christmas cards, ornaments, and décor, one of the biggest issues they will struggle to overcome is imagining themselves in the home.
A buyer needs to be able to envision their items and family inside the home. Most every buyer will actually begin thinking about how to position their furniture the first time they walk through an area—and that can be tough with holiday décor all around. They will struggle to see themselves living there, and that in itself can ruin the sell.
Conclusion
Listing your home during the holidays can be a bit stressful as it means you’ll need to skip over the decorations (or at least go as sparse as possible), but as soon as your home is sold, you can begin making a brand new house your own!
