how to sell during the holidays

How to Sell During the Holidays 

Some home owners consider the holiday season from November through January to be the worst time to sell in the real estate market. However, selling your home during the holiday season does have some advantages. Competition in the real estate market is generally less fierce, so the chances of selling your Edmonton home may be higher. However, there are certain dos and don’ts you should be aware of. 

These tips will give you a competitive advantage as you sell your Edmonton home during the holidays.

1. Reduce how often you decorate

Decorating our home is one of joys of celebrating Christmas. Don’t let selling your home stop you and your family from experiencing the joy of decorating your home for Christmas. Decorate and live in your home but reduce the amount of time your home is decorated for. Only decorate your home between mid-December to early January.

 

2. Limit visitors

Limit the number of visitors you invite to your home. While having a big crowd at your home is fun and exciting during the holidays, your potential buyers may feel uncomfortable and easily get distracted. Try to avoid having family stay with you during the holidays to ensure that your home is never too crowded.

 

3. Remove clutter

As with non-holidays, decluttering is an essential part of home staging during the holidays. Even though you are decorating in your home, don’t go overboard. Avoid adornments that are too large or too many as they will make your home look cluttered. Make sure your home is free of clutter. 

Be mindful of these 3 tips as you stage and sell your home during the holidays to appeal to real estate buyers.

showings in winter

Tips on Real Estate Showings in Winter 

Real estate showings in winter can be tricky. Despite the cold weather, you need to impress real estate buyers with the warmth and coziness of your Edmonton home. You also need to highlight the key outdoor and indoor features of your home to captivate your potential buyers. Staging your home in the winter may seem challenging, but it is doable when you know what works best.

These tips will help you stage your Edmonton home to win the hearts of potential buyers duringshowings in the cold winter season.

1. Keep your home temperature at around 20OC

Even though the outdoor temperatures may range from -5 to -15oC in winter, you need to make sure that your potential buyers feel warm and comfortable. Make sure that your home feels neither too warm nor too cold, but just right. A temperature of around 20oC will work best. 

2. Place a large rug at the entrance

To prevent your potential buyers from bringing snow and dirt into your Edmonton home with their shoes, you can place a large rig at the entrance of your home for buyers to remove and keep their shoes. 

 

3. Keep all lights on 

Keep all outdoor and indoor lights on to make your potential buyers feel welcomed when they arrive. A dark house may make buyers feel uncomfortable and unwelcomed. Leaving the outdoors light on will also make it easier for your buyers to navigate from the street in the night.

Keep these tips in mind as you stage your Edmonton home to impress buyers during your real estate showings in winter.

curb appeal in winter

Curb Appeal in Winter 

As the coldest season of the year, winter can kill your home’s curb appeal. To stay competitive in the real estate market and have an edge over competitors, it is important to make sure that you maintain the curb appeal of your home regardless. A great curb appeal will help maximize the value of your Edmonton home in the real estate market.

These tips will help you achieve a great curb appeal when staging your home during winter.

1. Remove snow and ice

Keep your home outdoors tidy and ensure the safety of your potential buyers. Clearing your driveway, walkways and stairs of snow and ice will prevent buyers from slipping. Your home will also look more appealing as buyers will get a better picture of what the exterior looks like.

 

2. Proper outdoor lighting

Having proper outdoor lighting will make your home look and feel safe to potential buyers. Your home will also be more attractive to buyers who come to explore your home at night. You can use lights to illuminate your house number, front door and the walkway leading to your front door.

 

3. Seasonal flowers or arrangements

Although winter might not seem like the most abundant of seasons, there are flowers that bloom even in the dead of winter. Seasonal winter flowers such as Lily, Pansy and Amaryllis will add a splash of colors to your garden, making your home more appealing to your potential buyers. 

Use these 3 tips when staging to increase the curb appeal of your Edmonton home and captivate real estate buyers during the winter months.

staying organized when selling

Staying Organized When Selling 

Staying organized is crucial when staging any home and your Edmonton home is no exception. Real estate buyers are attracted to well-organized homes as they are welcoming and pleasant to live in. So, you will have to declutter every space in your home to get rid of unnecessary items, then organize what is left behind to create even more space. 

These are 3 tips to help you effectively organize your Edmonton home.

1. Utilize baskets

Baskets are a practical yet beautiful solution for storing smaller items and keeping things in order. This storage solution can also complement your existing home furnishings. You can store your personal items such as toiletries, toys and accessoriesin a basket and place under the sink for convenience. 

 

2. Minimize clothing

Giving real estate buyers the impression that your home provides an abundance of space will help convince them to make the purchase. You can reduce the number of items in your closet to make it look as spacious as possible. This will make your potential buyers feel that there is more room for storage.

 

3. Minimize kids’ toys

Staging a home when living with kids may seem challenging, but it is still possible to make your home appeal to buyers, especially to families with kids. You will still have to minimize the clutter, so make sure to minimize the kids’ toys. This can be done by storing them away in containers that can slide under the bed or in the closet.

Use these helpful tips to keep your Edmonton home well-organized as you go about staging.

home organizing tips

Home Organizing Tips

Home organizing is a very important part of home staging. Real estate buyers are drawn to neat, tidy and well-organized homes, so keeping your Edmonton home organized will make it more appealing to potential buyers. In addition to the aesthetic appeal, well-organized homes give a sense of a healthier family, and the need for less maintenance and repairs. 

These are 3 useful home organizing tips to help you organize your Edmonton home.

1. Think seasonal

Part of Canada’s appeal is its four seasons – winter, spring, summer and fall. These seasons offer changing landscapes, temperatures and climates. Capitalize on the seasons by organizing your home accordingly – keep items on hand per season and remove others. For example, in the summer, you can focus on warm hues and an abundance of greenery and florals.

 

2. Utilize storage spaces properly

Get your home’s storage system in order. Storing items is different from cluttering your home. Store items that are still being used in a neat and tidy manner andremember to get rid of items that have not been used in the past year. 

 

3. Throw out or donate old items

Old items that are not used in a home often contributes to clutter. Although these items may still be usable, such items will make your home less appealing to real estate buyers. As part of decluttering, you can throw away old items or donate thosethat are still in good shape. 

Make sure to keep these home organizing tips in mind as you go about staging your Edmonton home.

how to get rid of clutter

How to Get Rid of Clutter

Home staging is crucial for success in any real estate market and getting rid of clutter is a very important part of it. Clutter takes up space and prevents buyers from imagining their own stuff in place. However, a home with too few things will make real estate buyers feel uncomfortable, so you need to be careful when getting rid of clutter from your Edmonton home.

These are 3 tips that should be kept in mind when getting rid of clutter.

1. Tackle one room at a time

Tackling on one room at a time will make it easier for you to stay focused on what needs to be done. Research has shown that we humans are not good multitaskers, so trying to work on many rooms at the same time would not be productive.

 

2. Get rid of anything you haven’t used within a year

Clutter may be hard for some home owners to clearly define. Some professional stagers recommend recognizing anything you haven’t used within a year as ‘clutter’ and getting rid of them accordingly, as these items would most likely not be used again.

 

3. Everything in the home should have a place

When everything in your Edmonton home has a place, your home will look neat, tidy and organized, which is very appealing to buyers. Your potential buyers will find it more convenient to identify the purpose of places in your home.

Use these 3 helpful tips to declutter your Edmonton home the right way, but remember to avoid making your home look and feel empty.

do’s and Donts of home staging

Dos and Don’ts of Home Staging

Home staging can make or break a listing in the real estate market, so it important to do what’s right and avoid making mistakes at all cost. Regardless of how well you stage your Edmonton home, a simple mistake can deter your potential buyers.

These are the top 2 dos and top 2 don’ts of home staging.

Do

1. Take professional pictures

Highlighting the features of your home is a great way to stand out in real estate listings. A professional photographer has the skills to highlight the best features of your home, showing your home at its very best.

 

2. Hire professionals

Professionals are equipped with a wealth of experience, so they know what works and what doesn’t. Hiring professionals may seem pricey at first, but it is certainly worth it in the long run.

 

Don’t

1. Leave pets inside the home during showings

Your pets can ruin your chances of winning over a potential buyer. Pets may be a wonderful part of your life, but your potential buyers may feel differently. It can be an instant turn-off to buyers that don’t have a liking for pets.

 

2. Spray too much air freshener

Too much air freshener can be overwhelming and a big turn-off to buyers. Your potential buyers may not agree with your preferred scent as well. Professional home stagers recommend keeping the smell of your home light and neutral.

Make sure to do the dos and steer clear of the don’ts as you stage your Edmonton home for a better chance of success.

misconception with staging

Misconceptions of Selling Your Home, What You Think is Important but Isn’t 

As with all trades, selling a home has its own set of misconceptions. As real estate markets are often brutally competitive, these myths can greatly hurt your chances of selling your home. You will have to be well informed of these myths before staging your Edmonton home to increase your chances of success.

These are 3 misconceptions you should be aware of before staging your home.

1. Replacing all furniture

Yes, you should replace broken or oversized furniture, but keep in mind that your potential buyers are not buying the furniture. Your potential buyers are buying yourhome, so unnecessary expenditure on new furniture may not be worth the investment you will have to make. Remember to replace only what is necessary.

 

2. Too much décor 

There needs to be a balance in your home in terms of the décor. In home decorating, design balance should be considered at the beginning stages of any room design. A home without proper balance will make your potential buyers feel uncomfortable and anxious. To achieve a balance, avoid cramming rooms with small décor objects and leave some breathing space. 

 

3. Removing everything

Decluttering and depersonalizing is essential, but you should avoid removing everything. Your home needs to feel homey and lived in to make your potential buyers feel comfortable with envisioning themselves living in your home. You will have to remove clutter, but make sure that your home still feels like a home when you’re done. 

Keep these misconceptions in mind as you stage your Edmonton home to win over your real estate leads.

what to avoid when selling

What to Avoid When Selling 

In today’s competitive real estate market, home staging plays a crucial role in winning over potential buyers, but it can be easy to go over the top or to not do quite enough. Some mistakes can harm even the best home staging efforts and deter real estate buyers, so you will have to be cautious as you stage your Edmonton home.

These are 3 common mistakes that should be avoided at all cost when home staging.

1. Keeping family pictures on the wall

Personal pictures are a big turn off, especially family pictures hanging on the walls thatmake your potential buyers feel uncomfortable envisioning your home as theirs. You may take down your family picture displays or replace them with an artwork to avoid blank walls.

 2. Decluttering too much

Decluttering is a very important part of home staging, but too much decluttering can have quite the opposite effect. A home that feels too empty will make your buyers uneasy. A rule of thumb is to keep out anything that you use daily to allow your potential buyers to see how they can live in your home.

 3. Too many smells

Every home has a smell no matter how scent-free your home may seem to you. To appeal to your potential buyers, your home needs to have a clean, light and neutral smell. Avoid artificial fragrances as your preference may not suit others. Instead, deep clean your home and avoid strongly scented cleaners.

Remember to avoid these 3 common mistakes as you go about staging your Edmonton home.

how to draw buyers to your home

How to Draw Buyers to Your Home

Home staging is key to selling a home as it inspires potential buyers to envision your home as theirs. Staging your home also helps to draw buyers in the initial stage. To convince real estate buyers to consider your home in the first place, you will have to capture their attention, whether online or in person. There are certain things you can do to make your home noticeable to prospective buyers. 

These are 3 ways to draw prospective buyers to your Edmonton home.

1. Great listing pictures

Real estate listings are often how your potential buyers first get exposed to your home. To draw the attention of buyers, you will have to give them a clear idea of what to expect with alluring, high-quality photographs highlighting the key features of your home. 

 

2. Curb appeal

Whether in picture or in real life, the curb appeal of your home matters. A home with a great curb appeal will win over the hearts of your potential buyers, making them eager to take a look inside with the impression that the interior will be just as enchanting as the exterior. 

 

3. First impression

Making a good first impression is essential. It determines whether buyers will want to inquire and explore further. Make sure that the exterior and interior of your home appears clean, attractive and problem-free to make a good first impression.

Use these 3 tips to complement your home staging and standout in the competitive real estate market in Edmonton.