Is it Harder to Sell Your Home During the Holidays?

Conventional real estate wisdom says it’s harder to sell your home during the holidays than it is, say, during the spring and summer.

But is that really true?

The short answer: it depends on your situation (and your Realtor®).

Is it Harder to Sell Your Home During the Holidays?

While the thought of selling your home during the holidays might wear down your holiday spirit, it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, holiday buyers seem to be more serious than those who only head out to look at houses when the weather’s warm. (On the Aspen real estate market, for example, people who are buying homes during the winter are nearly always ready—and qualified—to buy.)

4 Tips for Holiday Home-Sellers

If you choose to sell your home during the holidays, there are a handful of things you can do to make things easier.

Holiday Home-Selling Tip #1: Price it Right

This is really an all-year tip, but it’s especially important during the holidays. People are less likely to venture out in the cold (especially if they’re looking at homes for sale in Aspen or other cold-weather hotspots), so overpricing a house could do you more harm than good.

Holiday Home-Selling Tip #2: Go the Extra Mile With Curb Appeal

If you’re selling your home during the holidays, you don’t have the extra advantage of showcasing a beautifully green yard (well, maybe if you’re selling a house in Tampa…) and bright, sunny landscapes. Touch up exterior paint, salt the sidewalks and driveway, and make sure there’s plenty of lighting illuminating your home’s best exterior features.

Holiday Home-Selling Tip #3: Make Your Home an Idyllic Paradise for Cold House-Hunters

You want your home to feel cozy and charming, so you can capitalize on the fact that your potential buyers are shivering between the time they park and the time they come through your front door. Turn up the heat, pipe soft classical music through the house, and offer up homemade (and warm) treats. Make sure there’s a fire on the hearth, too; the longer buyers spend inside your home, the more time they have to appreciate it.

Holiday Home-Selling Tip #4: Don’t Go Overboard With Holiday Décor

You’ve heard that you should avoid overdoing it with holiday décor when your home is on the market, but how much is too much?

Try to keep your holiday décor generic, not overtly religious, and simple. If you put up too much, your home will begin to feel cluttered—and that’s the last thing buyers want to see. If your tree is in a small room, make sure it’s a skinny tree; if presents are overflowing on the living room floor, put them in the trunk of your car during showings.

What Are Your Best Holiday Home-Selling Tips?

If you have other great ideas that can help someone sell a home during the holidays, we’d love to hear them. Please share your thoughts in the comments below!