Selling Your Home During The Holidays

A common question asked of realtors this time of year is the following:

"Should I keep my home on the market over the holidays?"

The answer to that question is Yes. There are several reasons why:

1. Buyers continue to look over the holidays. A lot of those buyers probably are seriously searching since during this time of year there are many other events that could be taking their time away from the search for a new home.
2. Some sellers take their home off of the market during the holidays and this allows for possibly less competition for you as a seller during this time.
3. Interest rates change daily and if the interest rates drop during this time, your home may become even more appealing especially if the interest rates are lower than usual.

Advice for decorating your home during the holidays:

1. Do not decorate too much. Same rules apply as any time of year. Do not have too much clutter. Christmas trees are common, but do not put four or five trees out. This could be a distraction for buyers who may spend more time admiring your decorations then your home.

2. Take advantage of the smells. There are some great smells that people love to take in during this time of year. Certain food smells, evergreen scents, and many other holiday odors can be used to your advantage to set the mood when your home is shown.

3. Do not have a room full of presents. Keep your presents to a minimum on display during showings. Put some gifts away in a closet or somewhere not seen during showings. Although buyers are looking to possibly buy your home, someone may have other ideas in mind after viewing a home that is loaded with gifts. It is sad, but sometimes it is true that people could be so cold-hearted to steal during the holidays.

4. You can draw attention to your home with decorating tastefully. Do not cover your home with lights from roof to foundation. Place several spotlights in your front yard and wreaths on every window. At night your home will stand out in the neighborhood without a lot of lights and work. Also, during the day, the home will not be overloaded with extension cords and the curb appeal will still be seen.

5. Have water and cookies setting out for guests. Buyers of course are not Santa, but buyers sometime look at multiple homes and they may get thirsty. Having bottled water and Christmas cookies out for guests will make your home stand out among the many homes that they may view.

6. Play Christmas music to set the mood. Having certain Christmas music playing in the background during a showing could set the mood and make your home also stand out.

7. Use centerpieces on table made out of pine cones or other wintry pieces.

8. Shovel the driveway and sidewalks before showings. This will make it safer to enter your home and less likely for a fall.

9. Remember not to have Christmas cards put up everywhere. It is exciting to get Christmas cards from loved ones and to put them up, but the less clutter the better.

10. REMEMBER TO KEEP THE FOCUS ON YOUR HOME. It is great to have the home staged, but remember whatever you do to think whether the item would enhance or distract a buyer when viewing your home.

If you should have any real estate questions, feel free to email me at todd@toddnelson.com.

History In The Making

Last night after months of waiting, the future path of our country was chosen. Barack Obama will be our next President. He will be our first African American President. Everyone now can move on and prepare for the new direction our country will be taking. The real estate market has been very unpredictable this year and hopefully with his leadership things will improve.

An interesting thing happened overnight. The interest rate quoted by a local lender dropped to around 6% on a fixed rate 30 year mortgage with a borrower having a 720 or higher credit score. The interest rates have been around 6.5% to 6.875% recently. It will be very exciting if the interest rates continue to drop over the next couple of months especially if the econmony improves.

Check with your local lender to see how their interest rates are doing and hopefully they will continue to drop. Please email me at todd@toddnelson.com with an real estate related questions.