Comments on: Should you keep your Home on the market during the holidays, and if so, should you decorate? http://blog.fsbo.com/should-you-keep-your-home-on-the-market-during-the-holidays-and-if-so-should-you-decorate/ Buy & Sell Real Estate - For Sale By Owner Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:30:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Ben http://blog.fsbo.com/should-you-keep-your-home-on-the-market-during-the-holidays-and-if-so-should-you-decorate/#comment-28 Ben Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:11:31 +0000 http://blog.fsbo.com/should-you-keep-your-home-on-the-market-during-the-holidays-and-if-so-should-you-decorate/#comment-28 The stretch between the week before Thanksgiving and after New Years is traditionally the slowest in the real estate market. People are just busy doing other things. Volume usually picks back up in February, after the Superbowl. If your home is unoccupied it is best to keep it on the market. Many people find keeping a home 'show ready' stressful during the Holidays with family in town and extra activity around the home. No one wants to have their home shown when it is a mess or company is in town, and people are likewise reluctant to turn a potential buyer away. While having it show ready during the Holiday season is preferable, having it show up as a new listing, looking great and priced right after the Holidays comes a close second. Decorating for the Holidays is fine, but should follow basic home staging principles. The biggest rule is to keep things minimal with lots of leftover space. Remember, a well staged home should allow a potential buyer to easily imagine how the house would look as THEIR home. The stretch between the week before Thanksgiving and after New Years is traditionally the slowest in the real estate market. People are just busy doing other things. Volume usually picks back up in February, after the Superbowl. If your home is unoccupied it is best to keep it on the market. Many people find keeping a home ’show ready’ stressful during the Holidays with family in town and extra activity around the home. No one wants to have their home shown when it is a mess or company is in town, and people are likewise reluctant to turn a potential buyer away. While having it show ready during the Holiday season is preferable, having it show up as a new listing, looking great and priced right after the Holidays comes a close second.

Decorating for the Holidays is fine, but should follow basic home staging principles. The biggest rule is to keep things minimal with lots of leftover space. Remember, a well staged home should allow a potential buyer to easily imagine how the house would look as THEIR home.

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