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Real estate closing gifts: what agents should send, and when it should arrive
Velvéa · 6 min read · October 4, 2026
A closing gift has one job: to be the first nice thing that happens in the new house. Plenty miss. The intention is rarely the problem; the timing and the contents are, because they assume a household that does not exist yet. On closing day the dishes are in a box marked "kitchen", the fridge is empty, and nobody knows where the scissors are.
This guide is for realtors, mortgage brokers and anyone else who sends a gift when the keys change hands. It starts from moving day, because that is where the gift actually lands.
What works on move-in night
The test is simple. Can it be enjoyed on the first evening, with nothing unpacked?
- Ready to eat, nothing to prepare. Chocolate, biscuits, nuts and gourmet snacks that can be opened on the floor of an empty living room. That first evening, it is dinner more often than you would think.
- Shelf-stable. The fridge may not be plugged in yet. Anything that needs chilling is a problem you have handed them.
- Coffee for the first morning. A coffee or tea basket is the classic for a reason, and instant or single-serve coffee wins over beans when the grinder is still packed.
- Shareable. Movers, parents and friends who came to help are usually still around. A basket that feeds the room is remembered by more people than one meant for two.
Skip anything that needs a vase, a corkscrew, a kitchen knife or a cupboard. Fresh flowers are lovely in a house that has been lived in for a month, and a burden on day one. A gift with your logo all over it reads as a brochure, but more on that below.
Our housewarming baskets are built around exactly this, and the congratulations collection works well for a first-time buyer.
When it should arrive
Timing is where closing gifts most often go wrong, and the reason is particular to how closings work in Ontario. The keys are released only once the lawyers have registered the transfer, which is often not until the afternoon, and plenty of closings run late. A gift delivered to the new address at 11 a.m. on closing day may find a locked, empty house.
| Option | When it works |
|---|---|
| Hand it over yourself with the keys | The best moment there is, if you are meeting them. Pick the basket up or have it delivered to you the day before |
| Delivered one to three days after closing | The safe default. They are in, they are tired, and the doorbell is a pleasant surprise |
| Delivered on closing day | Only once you have confirmed someone will be there to receive it |
| Delivered before closing | Send it to their current address only if it is a congratulations on firming the deal, not a housewarming |
One more GTA reality: closings bunch up at the end of the month. If you have several on the same day, order a few days ahead. For a single basket we deliver same-day or next-day across much of the GTA, so a gift can still follow a closing that moved at the last minute.
Sellers are clients too
A seller is moving out, not in, so a gift sent to the old address is a gift for the movers. Send it to wherever they are going, a few days after they arrive, or thank them at the final walkthrough. If they are leaving the GTA, choose a basket that can be shipped; each product page says whether it can.
What to spend
There is no right percentage of commission, and clients do not think in those terms anyway. Think about the relationship instead.
| Situation | Sensible range |
|---|---|
| Most buyers and sellers | $70–$160 |
| Repeat clients, a family you have helped more than once, a large or difficult deal | $160–$250 |
| Referral partners who send you steady business | $150–$350, usually once a year rather than per deal |
Consistency matters more than size. Clients talk to each other, especially in the same building or neighbourhood, and a noticeably better gift for the bigger sale says something you probably do not mean to say.
Keep the marketing out of it
The closing gift that brings in referrals is the one that feels personal, and most of that comes down to the card. Sign it yourself and use their names. "Congratulations on the new home, Priya and Dev. I hope the first night is a good one." does more than any logo. Every Velvéa gift includes a printed message card, and prices are never included.
Leave branded merchandise out of the basket. If you want them to remember your name, it is on the card. A business card is fine; a fridge magnet with your face on it sends a different message.
Not sure what to write? Our gift message guide has examples for a housewarming.
The gift after the gift
The most effective thing many agents do is send a second gift: a small basket on the first anniversary of the closing. By then the house is lived in, the clients have recommended someone (or are about to), and nobody else remembered the date. Put the closing date in your calendar the day you order the first one.
Referral partners and the rest of the team
Lawyers, mortgage brokers, home inspectors and stagers who send you work are a different case. These are business relationships, and an annual gift tends to work better than one per deal. The corporate gifting guide covers how food gifts are treated for tax (generally 50% deductible) and why keeping a recipient log matters. If you send more than a handful a year, ask us for a quote: we offer volume pricing from 10 baskets and one invoice for the lot.
If your brokerage has a policy on client gifts, follow it.
Before you order
Get the timing right and most of the rest follows. Something shareable that arrives after the keys, with a card signed by you and no logo in sight, is hard to get wrong. Housewarming baskets and baskets for clients are the place to start.