5 Tips for Selling Your Home During the Holidays

Some folks in the real estate biz would call the holiday season–the period roughly from November through January–the worst possible time to sell a home. But there’s always a silver lining if you’re willing to see it. There are actually some significant benefits to putting your home on the market during the holidays. 

For starters, your real estate agent will be better able to give you their undivided attention, and you’ll also be able to target serious buyers more easily. That being said, you’ll need every advantage you can get. Here’s how to give yourself an edge when you’re selling a home during the holidays. 

Work with a Great Real Estate Agent

The right agent can do wonders for you when you need to sell your home fast, especially during this challenging season. Above all, you need someone reliable who will put in the hours and won’t disappear just because it’s the holidays. A good way to find the right real estate agent is to check references and ask about their strategy for selling homes like yours during the holiday season. Chances are, they’ll have some tricks up their sleeve. Having a really great seller’s agent in your corner is one of the greatest advantages you can get. 

Deck the Halls… Tastefully

Consider your holiday decorations carefully. A bit of tasteful holiday decor is a great way to make your house stand out and feel like a warm, welcoming place. Keep it simple: a wreath on the door, some clear string lights, a star at the top of the spruce tree out front. Avoid bright, garish displays and over-the top inflatables. You want your house to offer a serene, peaceful holiday ambiance, not a circus-like atmosphere. It’s also a good idea to keep decorations as non-denominational as possible to avoid turning off any potential buyers who might come from a different religious background.. 

Create a Virtual Tour

These days, open houses are increasingly giving way to online showings and virtual tours. With that in mind, hiring a professional to create a 3D virtual tour of your home is a great idea regardless of the season. But in winter, when sleet and snow make the idea of driving out to visit an open house seem less appealing than ever, virtual tours are especially important. Give potential buyers a chance to explore your house in all its glory from the comfort of their living room. 

Emphasize Curb Appeal

First impressions are of the utmost importance when selling your home, and fall and winter are times when you need to really make curb appeal a priority. If the trees are bare, then your home will be even more exposed, so be extra vigilant about touching up flaking paint, adjusting saggy gutters and keeping the porch clear. If there are fallen leaves on your lawn, rake them up into neat piles until they start to look soggy, and then bag them up. If there’s snow on the ground, make sure your walkways are shoveled and salted. 

Seek Out Motivated Buyers

The good news is that people who are out looking at homes during the holidays are serious about buying. The bad news is that there are fewer of them. You and your real estate agent will have to work a little harder to target the right buyers. Focus on folks who are relocating for work in your area, investors looking to buy a home before the tax deadline, students and families of students looking to buy a home before the next semester begins. 

The holiday season is meant to be enjoyed, and if you happen to be selling a home this time of year, there are indeed reasons to rejoice. With a little effort, it might just be one of the best seasons to put your home on the market.

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