Friday, December 21, 2012

Holiday Home Marketing


With feasts to prepare, guests and trips to coordinate, and presents to wrap, the last thing you want to do is spend an inordinate amount of time preparing your home to be viewed by potential buyers.  Check out these easy tips and tricks to help your home remain show worthy, without forcing you to sacrifice the holiday spirit.

Use lights strategically
When you decorate outside, keep two things in mind.  First, big, bulky decorations might be a turn-off to some buyers, so keep your decorations at a tasteful minimum.  Second, consider any architectural features you want to highlight, and use lights to do that.  If you have a great archway, illuminate it with a string of lights.  Interweave lighting into your hanging vines.  You can use the lights to help focus the buyers eyes to the big selling points of your yard.

Build an Oasis
When coming in from the cold, buyers want to feel completely welcomed.  An easy way to do this is to make the environment warm.  Right before your home is going to be shown, turn the thermostat up a few degrees.  If you have a fireplace, light a fire (assuming someone like your agent will quickly be there to make sure it’s a controlled flame).

Show off with your Tree
Please do not try to do this by buying the biggest, bulkiest tree available.  This will make your home look small and may even seem tacky.  Instead, use your tree to show off your house.  If you have tall ceilings, get a tree that almost reaches the top, drawing buyers’ eyes upward.  Try to find a skinny tree, so the room won’t lose any depth while holding it.  And consider decorating it using a single theme – this will make the room look complete and well put together.

Decorate to Sell
You know that your home has beautiful features.  Use your decorations to draw the buyers towards those parts of the house.  If you have a fantastic mantle, consider laying a holiday vine across it.  Bold colors draw the eye, and the holidays are a chance to point a big neon sign to the part of your home that will be huge selling points (figuratively, of course).

Use the Smells of the Season
In addition to a warm welcome, nothing makes a potential buyer feel more at home than inviting smells.  A simple way to win their affection is to leave a pot of hot apple cider or hot chocolate simmering on the stove right before you leave, with a few mugs to the side to make it clear everyone’s welcomed to partake.  The smell will permeate the house, and the gesture will be appreciated.  The buyer will feel that this house is a place they’d like to call home in the winter.

All in all, try to create an inviting atmosphere while maintaining a tasteful décor.  Highlight the aspects of your house you’re most proud of, and help the buyer see what a wonderful home it truly is.

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