Selling Chicago Real Estate This Holiday Season Requires Just The Basics And A Little Sparkle

It’s no secret that thousands of American families think the best present they could receive this holiday season would be a full-price offer on the Chicago real estate they’ve been trying to sell. For just that reason, many sellers may be tempted to go to special lengths to attract buyers during the holidays.

But that can be a classic mistake, contends Jim Merrion, regional director of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois, the Chicago real estate leader.

“Layering on lots of holiday decorations inside and outside the house is one way to attract attention, but not necessarily the best way,” said Merrion. “When it comes to holiday décor, restraint is the best approach. It’s not that a seller shouldn’t decorate for the holidays, but you don’t want the seasonal touches to obscure the intrinsic appeal of the home.”

The flip side of too much holiday décor, according to Merrion, is the impulse among some sellers to take their home off the market during the holidays because buyers are less active.

“It’s true that fewer buyers are active during the months of November, December and January than at other times of the year,” Merrion acknowledged, “but those buyers who are in the market usually are quite serious about finding a home quickly. Otherwise they, too, would be doing other things at this time year. Just a handful of showings during the holiday season can be more productive for a seller than a dozen showings in spring. Remember, it may take only one showing to generate a sales contract.”

So what should sellers do to improve the chances of getting an offer in their holiday stockings?

1. Select and place your Christmas tree carefully so that it doesn’t overwhelm the room.
“A tree that is too big for the room it’s in really creates problems by making the whole house look small in comparison,” says Paul Wells, broker/owner with RE/MAX of Barrington in Barrington, Illinois. “If it’s my listing, we spend time talking about the tree. I urge my sellers to make sure their tree fits comfortably in the room. A tree can look relatively small out at the Christmas tree lot, but then look huge when it’s in their house.”

2. Outside the house, use restrained yet festive exterior decorations to welcome visitors. An elegant wreath hung on the front door may be preferable to an inflatable snowman.

3. If you have traditional holiday decorations that you want to display inside your home, think about putting away some of your non-holiday things so that rooms don’t look cluttered or over stuffed. In the room where the tree is placed, consider removing some furniture, rather than just rearranging it.

“It’s really a matter of moving ahead and using your home as you normally would,” said Louise Clark, broker/owner of RE/MAX Property Associates in Morrison, Ill. “Buyers understand that families live in the homes they visit; they make allowances for that, so sellers can have presents under the tree and lights in the yard. Still, the house needs to look neat, and you don’t want the decorations to be a barrier that makes it difficult for a buyer to get a good look at things, such as room dimensions, traffic patterns, window views and other important factors.”

4. Use holiday décor to draw the attention to the strongest features of your home. If you have a beautiful mantelpiece, use one or two eye-catching decorations to highlight it, but don’t hide it under a layer of garland. Instead, use the garland to frame windows that offer an attractive view of the yard or the skyline.

5. You may love to sit in your family room with the tree illuminated and most other lights turned low, but that isn’t the best way to show your home. Winter tends to be a dark time of year, so keep plenty of lights on inside the house when buyers are coming, and leave the drapes or blinds open, especially during daylight hours so that the home seems as bright as possible.

6. Sharing a little holiday hospitality with buyers can be a good strategy, especially if you plan to hold an open house during December.

Michele Rossi of RE/MAX Accord in Bloomingdale, IL, reports that at holiday open houses, “we will be roasting almonds with a sugar cinnamon coating. The smell is intoxicating, not to mention that it tastes wonderful, too. We will wrap the almonds in cheese cloth and tie with a festive ribbon to give out to buyers who stop in. We will also be offering a cup of hot wassail made with a great old recipe.”

A final thought for sellers at this time of year, said Merrion, is to avoid making buyers feel like they are intruding.

“Even though you are celebrating the holiday season, convey the impression that you are serious about selling your home,” he advised. “Keep the front walk clear of ice and snow, and make sure the kitchen and baths look their best for showings. You probably won’t see that many buyers at this time of year, but those you do see are great prospects, so do your best to impress them.”