Spooky Strategies- How to Sell Your Home and Still Enjoy Halloween
Do you usually decorate your home at Halloween? Do you really go to town to try and scare the kids in your street? What if you are trying to sell your home? Should you avoid getting into the spooky spirit if your home is on the market?
Halloween has always been considered a rather American holiday and is only taken up by children in the UK because of the allure of free sweets. But it is seeping into our normal way of life; the Halloween decorations in the supermarkets take up an entire aisle now and are brought out as soon as the summer holidays are over. People decorate their whole house with fake cobwebs and crime scene tape, tombstones in the gardens, and spooky skeletons.
Marketing your home for sale during seasonal holidays can be wonderful. The most magical time of the year when our homes are warm and welcoming can be a great time to have viewings and really show how your home can be showcased at this time of year. Imagine the fairy lights, cosy fires, warming festive cheer, and deliciously scented candles.
But what if you are trying to sell your home during the spooky season? Of course, there's nothing to stop you from selling your house at this time of year; in fact, historically, September and October are usually very good months for sales. And when the weather is cold, wet and windy, you can offer viewers a safe haven in your lovely warm home, a port in a storm, if you like. That welcome could be enough to secure an offer from the buyer, making them feel warm, welcome and safe in your lovely home.
So, should you decorate your property for Halloween? Or should you be a bah humbug and skip the holiday altogether?
A viewing appointment is your chance to show off your home's best bits, and first impressions really count. Consider for a moment if your Halloween decorations are the best first impression to make. Do you really want novelty crime scene tape or fake blood spattered up the front door? Do you want the first impression to include a ghost floating in a window or a blood-curdling scream to pierce your viewer's ears when they ring the doorbell?
Halloween can be fun, but it might not be the best way to present your home for sale. Unlike Christmas, it's not as easy to decorate for Halloween in a tasteful way. There is no way to make tombstones in your front garden look welcoming. After all, the aim of Halloween is to scare and deter people from coming to your home, the opposite of what you're trying to do when it selling.
You could decorate for autumn, rather than for Halloween, with jewel-toned leaves and pumpkins, but this might be the year to skip the usual Halloween decor. If you really want to get in the spirit of Halloween, opt for temporary decorations and only put them up on the day for the trick-or-treaters. Just make sure you don't book any viewings for that day!
If you are thinking of selling your home, get in touch with our friendly team today.