If you are selling your Glenview home during the holiday season, know that the market usually does a slowdown around the winter holidays. The upside? The very motivated buyers are still searching for homes and while some sellers take their homes off the market until after the holidays, your home will be front and center for showings.
Here are some tips for showing - and selling - your home during the season of peace, love and joyous overeating/overspending!
Motivated Buyers
There are certain advantages to having your home on the market at this time of year. The buyers that are out in the wet and cold Illinois winter tend to be really motivated to buy. Holiday house hunters usually fall into two groups: they either need a place to live quickly, or they need to close escrow on their new home by the end of the year for tax purposes. This could work to your advantage!
Go Easy on Holiday Décor
If you do decide to decorate, make sure you do it tastefully and don't overindulge. Think of it as staging with some holiday cheer; this will help you follow the staging mandates of not cluttering your space.
If you have a dining room, stage it for a holiday dinner - many a buyer has bought a whole house around their holiday dinner fantasies. Help them visualize their first Hanukah, Christmas or Kwanzaa hosted at their new home.
If your living room is already a bit small, keep the mantel simply decorated for the holidays so that you keep your fireplace as the pleasing focal point. Large objects or stockings lining the entire mantle can make your area seem smaller than it actually is and not give the potential buyer a good first impression.
If you have a Christmas tree, keep it to scale with the rest of the room. This year isn't the year to get the fattest, tallest tree you can find. You may want to also thin out a couple of pieces of furniture that you do not need so as not to overcrowd now that there's a tree in your living room.
Beware of putting out family heirlooms or cherished family memories. Being exposed to the public gives way to accidents and you want to keep them safe to continue their tradition in your new home.
Be Clear with "No Show" Dates and Times
You don't want to make it difficult to schedule a showing for your home. Usually, buyer's agents schedule multiple properties to be shown. If the other homes in your Glenview neighborhood are vacant or very easy to show, and you cancel your showings or cannot be reached, buyers will see the other homes above yours even if yours is the favorite. However, with the holiday season upon us, it's understandable that you may need certain times blacked out for family functions.
Plan ahead and let your agent know definite times/days beforehand so that they can schedule showings accordingly without the hassle of canceling and rescheduling with buyer's agents. The keyword here is "a couple" - keep these "no show" slots to an absolute minimum. If there are multiple, whole weeks or lots of half-day time slots during which you don't want your home shown, consider taking it off the market and relisting it in the New Year, rather than running the risk of getting bumped to the bottom of buyers' brokers' "show" lists.
Expect to be Inconvenienced
Selling during the holidays can be rewarding, but smart seller's approach it knowing it won't always be fun. Go in with realistic expectations. It's an Illinois winter, after all, so expect that some buyers will track mud or snow into your house at some point. If you are home for a staycation, someone will interrupt your quiet time for a showing; that's a given. It's inevitable that some buyer will leave your front door open longer than you'd like, letting that costly heated air out. Take a deep breath and stay focused on the goal at hand.
These things are bound to happen, but the upside is that these buyers are motivated and the more that see your home, the better. You only need one buyer to sell your home but it will take a lot of buyers to find that right one. Avoid the emotional rollercoaster and irritation by expecting these issues and chalking them up as par for the course.
Use Common Sense in Sensory Staging
Holiday food smells like spiced cider, pumpkin pie and baked appley/cinnamoney things are about as universally comforting as smells get. It certainly wouldn't hurt to do some sensory staging to create a sense of comfort and cheer. Also, remember that dreary winter weather can make even the loveliest house and showing take on a gray cast; counteract this by making sure your home is well-lighted and heated. One thing, though - if your holiday home is a candle-lit home, make sure you leave no candles burning if you clear your family out for showings.
It isn't necessary to say good-bye to the holiday cheer just because your home is on the market; just decorate tastefully and don't overdo it. You also have to expect some inconveniences and be flexible. Rest assured, The Marla Schneider Team will sell your home in any season; especially the holiday season!
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