Erecting a Christmas tree in the living room or stringing lights outside can bring the holidays home, but is decorating a good idea when your house is for sale?
Local real estate brokers Barbara Miller of ERA Dan Williams Realty and Brenda Haug of Preview Properties differ on the extent of holiday adornments they recommend, but both agree that some festive touches can only help.
"A decorated house can trigger all the sentimental ideas people associate with home, happiness and family," Miller said.
Haug added, "Sometimes it helps when people can visualize where to put their Christmas tree or smell cookies baking. People buy emotionally during the holidays."
That said, however, Haug advises her clients to keep holiday decorations simple and tasteful to avoid distracting from their homes’ features. Miller, on the other hand, said she tells families to go all out with seasonal decorations if they want to, so long as the house is otherwise immaculate and clutter free.
"I think buyers who come in recognize that it’s the holidays, and people are going to decorate," Miller said.
She and Haug added that scents of holiday baking and a lit fireplace (only when someone is home), can keep a house cheerful for residents and visitors alike.
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