It’s the age-old and hotly debated question, should you decorate your home over the holidays if it’s listed for sale? While I want my sellers to enjoy the holidays, my opinion is that decorations should be kept to a minimum. The best way to get a clear perspective is by taking a look at your own home look through the eyes of a prospective buyer.
Too many holiday decorations can be distracting for home buyers.
One of the very first steps in preparing your home for the market is to de-clutter your home. Most likely, if you decorate for the holidays, you are filling up these clean crisp spaces with knick knacks. So step back and ask, “what will the buyer see when they step through your door?”
Any stager or interior design expert will tell you to stay within the neutral ranges of paint colors and décor when getting your home ready to be put on the market. So why wouldn’t you follow suit when you decorate for the holidays?
It’s fall and some well-placed pumpkins and gourds may add warmth to your home that will take you through Halloween and Thanksgiving without stating “decorated”. As the holidays change, replace those items with some natural greens and neutral or white lights that can take you through the New Year. You’ve lit up the space but left it open to the buyer’s imagination.
However, if you have little ones and you must decorate for Halloween, less can be more in creating that “spooktacular” effect for the neighborhood block party. One green spotlight shining on the front door with creepy music and a fog machine can be just as effective as ghosts and ghouls hanging from the trees, Dracula by the front door and a cauldron in the garden bed which detracts from the home’s curb appeal.
In a month, the holiday colors schemes are going to change to the dominant reds and greens, an effect that is often distracting for buyers as they are sizing up your home as their own. Often after an exhausting day of home viewing buyers may reference homes by what stands out in their mind.
You want the floor plan and orientation of your home to stick in their mind after they leave and when they are comparing their options. You don’t want your home referred to as the house with the “gaudy tree with all the baubles” or “the one that smelled like mulled wine”.
The objective is for buyers to grab on to an outstanding reference point – for example, that beautiful cantera mantle above the fireplace in the living room, or the large bonus room with great open space. So if decorations will be a deterrent in hiding these facts take them down or don’t put them up in the first place.
The bottom line is: if you’re going to decorate, do it tastefully and keep it to a minimum. One last word of advice: take down the decorations immediately after the holiday.
Looking for DC Ranch homes for sale? Call me at 480-360-0281 or fill out the contact form below to schedule an appointment to view properties.
Don Matheson
Realtor | Founder
The Matheson Team – RE/MAX Fine Properties
21000 N. Pima Rd., #100, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
480-360-0281
don@scottsdalerealestate.com
