5 min read  ·  For: Real estate brokerage owners and top-producing agents

The closing gift is one of real estate’s oldest traditions — and one of its most misused ones.

Most closing gifts say: “Thank you for the commission.” The best closing gifts say: “I understand what this transaction meant to you — and I see you as more than a transaction.”

For clients who are 45 and older, selling the family home or buying their next chapter, the stakes are higher than a house. Here are seven gifts worth considering, plus one that several brokerage owners called the most memorable gift they’d ever given a client.

1.  A custom home portrait  — sentimental, lasting

Commission a local artist or watercolorist to paint the home being sold — or the new one being purchased. Extraordinarily personal, visually beautiful, and one of the most-mentioned gifts by clients years later. The limitation: it requires lead time (typically 3–4 weeks) and knowledge of the artist. But the impact-to-cost ratio is exceptional.

2.  A smart home starter kit  — practical, modern

A Nest thermostat, smart lock, or premium doorbell camera for the new home. Practical, well-received, and signals that you think about their day-to-day life in the new space. Works best for buyers moving into a new property — not as meaningful for sellers leaving one.

3.  A restaurant gift card to “their neighborhood spot”  — simple, local, forgettable

A gift card to a restaurant in their new neighborhood helps them settle in. Low friction, appreciated, universally forgettable. Does nothing to differentiate you. Better than nothing; not better than most things.

4.  A premium kitchen or entertaining set  — home-appropriate, enjoyable

A Le Creuset dutch oven, a premium knife set, a beautifully curated bar cart kit. For clients who entertain or cook, this feels genuinely personal. Requires knowing something about their lifestyle — a gift that misses the mark here lands as generic as a fruit basket.

5.  A professional moving concierge service  — practical, high-value, novel

Some premium real estate firms now partner with moving concierge companies that handle utility transfers, change-of-address notifications, and the dozens of logistical headaches that come with relocation. For busy professional clients, this is an extraordinary gift. For clients who handle things themselves, it may feel presumptuous. Know your client.

6.  A landscape design consultation  — property-connected, lasting

For clients moving into a new home, a consultation with a landscape architect — followed by a planting credit — helps them put down roots in more ways than one. Beautifully on-theme for real estate. Requires partnering with a local landscape professional.

7.  A guided life story journal — the home for their life  ★ Editor’s pick

Real estate involves some of the most emotionally charged moments in a person’s life. Selling the house where they raised their children. Buying the property they’ll retire in. Downsizing after a spouse passes. These transitions deserve a gift that honors the weight of the moment.

The My Peeps Life Story Journal — 170+ guided prompts delivered in a premium gift box with a personal letter — lands differently in this context than any other gift on this list. Because it’s not about the house. It’s about the people who lived in it, and the stories that happened there, and the ones still to come.

My Peeps offers a gifting program for real estate professionals at $34.99 per journal. Your name appears in the app every time they write — months after closing, you’re still top of mind. themypeepsapp.com

For clients in their 50s and 60s with adult children, this gift often becomes a family project. Several agents have reported clients mentioning the journal at referral conversations — because it gave them something to tell friends about their agent that wasn’t just “she was really professional.”

“The house is an address. The home is a story. The best closing gift knows the difference.”

The closing gift also has a second life: it becomes part of how clients describe you to people they refer. Memorable gifts generate memorable stories. If the only differentiator you offer is market knowledge, you’re competing with every other agent in your zip code. If clients talk about you as someone who truly saw them — that’s a different conversation entirely.

Thinking about implementing one of these gifts this year? Learn how real estate professionals are using the My Peeps gifting program — themypeepsapp.com

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My Peeps is a private family memory and legacy platform. Learn more at themypeepsapp.com.

Ready to start? [Explore the Life Story Journal] and start capturing the stories that matter most.

Download on the App Store or Google Play Store today!