Too much glitter can tarnish your sale effort

A LITTLE bit of Christmas cheer can go a long way when dressing up your house for sale this season - but don't overdo it. 

Decorations

A LITTLE bit of Christmas cheer can go a long way when dressing up your house for sale this season - but don't overdo it.

With red and green decor set to hit homes across the country this week and next the agents advise vendors to keep photography clear of Christmas cheer.

"It places a time frame on your selling campaign and will look terrible if the home's still on the market in January," real estate agent Damien Keyes told the Townsville Bulletin.

But he said a plate of Christmas biscuits or candy canes at an open-home inspection could nevertheless add that sense of festivity.

"You don't want to clutter up the house during sale time," Mr Keyes said.

"So anything like a Christmas tree that is maybe going to obstruct a hallway (is not a good idea).

"But if you want to decorate for Christmas try and put most of it away for the open inspection, try and keep it simple."

Other agents advise  that if you are adding in a Christmas tree or other large decorations, make sure you are removing some items from the room as well.

You do not want to lose the spacious feeling the room has or give the perception that the room is smaller.

Many sellers reshuffle the couch or chair around to get the tree in the room. Then the room looks signifcantly smaller than it really is. This can be a deciding factor for someone looking to buy your home.

It's a message vendor Saskia Hedley has taken to heart when preparing her Townsville home for sale.

Ms Hedley said while it was tempting to put the tree up and deck the halls with decorations this week, she wanted her home to remain appealing to all buyers.

"I think it would be nice to have a little bit of festive cheer but not too cluttered," she said.

"I'd hate to discriminate against any buyers and a lot of people don't celebrate Christmas."

Mrs Hedley said taking down family photos and ensuring the house was spotless made a big difference to buyers at open home inspections.