Staging a Home for Sale When It’s Cold Outside

As a home stager, I know exactly how difficult it can be to stage a home during the winter months especially when there’s the anticipation of selling your home. Not only that, but there’s also an increased amount of stress due to getting ready for the holiday season and being pre-occupied with making your lists and checking them twice. Well, I’m here to share with you the good news; it’s not as bad as you might think it is.

During the winter months, the housing market is usually at its lowest during the holidays which means less competition and fewer listings. This happens more so than it would during the spring and summer seasons mostly because people would rather stay indoors to keep warm and cozy under a nice flannel blanket relaxing on their comfy chair while drinking hot cocoa. However, even during the hot summer months, there are still locations within certain regions that it remains cold all year long.

For those of you who fall within these cold regions, in order to save you some time and relieve your worries and stresses, all you have to do is follow a few simple steps and you will be well on your way to selling your home in no time.

Locate any cool drafts around the house and make certain they are tightly sealed. Then, turn on the heater but, also be mindful of the temperature, the last thing you don’t want is to be sweating in a furnace. If you have a fireplace, light up the fire to create a warm and serene atmosphere. There’s nothing better than to walk into a warm house out from the cold with the fireplace lit and hearing the scintillating crackling sounds in the background.

If you do not own a fireplace, no worries; substitute with an overflowing collection of lit-up candles (either real or LED). I prefer LED for safety reasons along with 2 or 3 scented candle warmers scattered throughout the house to heighten the cozy holiday atmosphere. Why not pretend it’s Christmas in April? Remember, your main objective here is to help potential homebuyers imagine themselves coming into a warm and cozy home away from the brisk cold outdoorsy weather.

You want to make sure potential homebuyers are aware of your holiday or vacation schedule and availability. Timing is the main objective at hand. If you have already scheduled out-of-town plans or are planning to attend/host any holiday parties, please make certain all of your plans are scheduled well ahead of time.

First things first, make sure your driveway and sidewalks are swept, as well as, clearing off your decks and/or patios.

As for seasonal/holiday decorations, keep the twinkling lights bright; decorate conservatively; and demonstrate a cozy holiday feel by displaying greenery throughout the home, such as, a lit-up decorated tree, holly berries, and/or festive wreaths. Your main objective here is to provide your prospective homebuyers an aspirational vision of how the house may epitomize by using their own decorations if they owned the home.

And, also, keep in mind that once the holidays are henceforth concluded, please remove any, if not all, holiday decorations that are remaining in order to not mislead your potential buyers and/or frighten them away. You want to make certain your decorations match the appropriate season/holiday/or occasion.

And why not save the best for last? It is viably important that you hire a local realtor within your community or neighborhood since they might be more familiar with the area and know exactly what buyers are looking for within the same vicinity. Hiring a local realtor will be of a great benefit to you because they will be able to assist you in creating a successful marketing strategy that will aid you in achieving the best possible sales result.

By following these few simple steps, you will not only make the best stress-free decision of your life, but you will also find that with just a touch of creativity, organization, inspiration, décor, and guidance from outside sources, you will find yourself selling your home sooner than you anticipated.