Tips on Selling Your Home During the Winter

Don’t let any winter blues detour you from successfully selling your home!  Many people believe that the housing market goes on some sort of unintentional hold but, reality is quite the contrary.  Winter may not be the most convenient time to move but “homes listed between December and March sell faster than homes listed in other months, and for more money” according to Redfin, a real estate company.  People tend to escape the cold and go on tropical trips and the blistering cold can make house hunting unappealing, making the winter a challenging time to sell your home.  What this all really means is that there are fewer homes on the market which means that yours will get more attention from buyers!  Buyers looking in the winter are sure to be motivated and make their efforts worthwhile since they are brave enough to face the cold.  There are numerous things that home owners can do to make their home stand out to buyers. 

Before doing a huge remodel to get your home ready for the winter market, take note that interior designers, Realtors, and home stagers agree that doing any sort of large-scale remodels or extravagant staging of any kind before selling your home isn’t worth the investment.  Instead, the key to making your home stand out and successfully selling it in the wintertime lies in small renovations, upping the cozy factor, paying attention to details, and making the most of winter assets.  Here are some ideas for preparing your home for success by creating a warm and welcoming vision for home buyers:

Warm your Home

There are various ways to do this.  The obviously first is to light a crackling fire.  Fireplaces create a warm, cozy, inviting, and homey feel to a house.  Light a fire if you have a gas fireplace or a new clean-burning woodstove but if your home’s fireplace is older and leave a smoky smell in the room, hold off.  Smoke can be off-putting to those with allergies or sensitivities.  Instead, consider offering a warm beverage such as hot apple cider, coffee, or hot cocoa!

First Impression Entryways

A clean and clutter-free house will sell more easily, and maybe even at a higher price, any time of the year.  Entryways in winter can consist of slushly melting snow, wet boots, rock salt crystals, mud and muck, and winter gear thrown everywhere.  Entryways are one of the very first impressions of a home and can definitely play a factor in buyer’s overall feeling about a house.  Some simple ways to keep an entryway clean is to use a nearby closet to store winter coats, hats, boots, and scarves, have a rug at the door for feet wiping, have a trunk in the entryway to for storage, and have a light and quick mop or Swifter nearby to wipe up any messes. 

 

Lighten Up!

During the winter, daytime can often mean gloomy dim sun light.  Turn on the lights throughout your home to give buyers a brighter idea of what your home is all about, literally! Lamps and under lights aid in creating a warm and welcoming feel to the home too.

Pay Attention to Detail

Even the smallest of details can go unnoticed and make a real difference for prospective buyers.  Use what you already have in your home and do simple things like throwing a draped blanket over the back of an armchair or at the foot of a bed, throw some decorative throw pillows on the couch, a chair, and the bed, put area rugs consisting of warm hues throughout the home in open areas. 

Use Your Outdoor Rooms

If you have a covered porch or outdoor fireplace, it’s a great idea to keep that area fully furnished and visually appealing.  Turn on outdoor lights, put out some throw pillows and drape a quilt over any outdoor furniture.

 

Emphasize Spaces

To make your home even more appealing, emphasize spaces and rooms that will catch prospective buyers’ eyes and heighten their interests.  These types of rooms and spaces include: finished basements, playrooms, indoor exercise areas, tool sheds, finished attics, sun rooms, decks, rec rooms, built-in bar areas, cigar or game rooms, and any other special spaces in your home.  Remove any unrelated stuff or storage in the space to enhance clarity and appeal.  Be sure to tell your Realtor to show these spaces. 

Entertaining Possibilities

Who doesn’t like a home fit for entertaining friends and families?  Show the grand hosting possibilities of your home by holding holiday open houses and setting up for prospective buyer walk throughs.  Winter is a popular time of year for holiday parties and family gatherings.  Show just how warm and inviting your home can be by putting out plates of holiday snacks or cookies and warm beverages.  Decorate your tables with fresh winter flowers or outdoor foliage like decorative pine cones in a beautiful glass bowl.  Place popular winter vegetables and fruits in bowls on the kitchen counter like pomegranates, currants, figs, lemons, squash, and mixed nuts.

Winter Gardens

Among the snow and ice, it can be difficult for buyers to visualize a beautiful blooming garden.  There are ways to display the great potential of a garden by placing large urns and planters, benches, rock walls, and other garden structures. 

Shovel and Salt!

There’s nothing more off-putting about touring a house than not being able to get to the house due to an icy pathway.  Make sure open house guests and potential buyers can easily and safely walk all the way around the house and access outer buildings like garages and sheds.  Try to provide as much off-street parking as you can to make things easy for visitors.

Holiday Decorations

Help buyers envision living in your home by taking advantage of the holiday season and lively décor.  Let buyers see what their holidays could look like living in their home.  Twinkling lights, green wreaths, and other festive décor can definitely make a difference.  Don’t go overboard with the decorations, even the smallest of décor can make the biggest difference.

Hire a Motivated Realtor

The winter season isn’t a time for agents to kick back and relax or take off all winter to a tropical island.  You want an agent who is just as motivated at getting your home sold as you are.  Winter is a great time for Realtors to put their marketing techniques to good use.  It’s the perfect time to get creative and gain exposure.  As your friends and family if they have an Realtor to refer to you.  Make sure your Realtor focuses on targeting the right motivated buyers such as those on a deadline, relocations, investors on tax deadlines, college students and staff, and military personnel if you live near a military base.

Price to Sell

Who doesn’t like getting a great deal on a home?  A home that’s priced low for the market will make buyers happy, any time of the year.  Instead of making gradual small price reductions, many real estate agents advise sellers to slash their prices before putting the home on the market.

Attractive Curb Appeal

With the heaps of snow that can pile up during the winter time, it’s important to make sure your home looks just as good from the outside as it does inside.  Put up some sparkling holiday lights, do some minor repairs and paint touch ups to the outdoors, clean the gutters from Fall leaves, and shovel a nice pathway.

Take Great Photos

With the winter winds and snow-filled streets, homebuyers are more likely to begin their house hunt from the comfort of their warm cozy home by searching the Web for listings.  Therefore, it’s in your best interest to make sure that you take great photos to catch their attention.  Offer a generous amount of flattering, high-quality photos.  To make things even better, include a few summer and spring photos if you can.

Create a Video Tour

Another way to grab the attention of Web-browsing homebuyers is to make a virtual tour video of your home.  Make your home as attractive as it can be, utilize holiday décor, light a fireplace, light candles, and shoot a clear video tour of your home to post online.

Don’t Sell, Don’t Worry!

If you don’t sell your home before the New Year, don’t worry, there’s always next year!  The holiday season can be stressful enough with holiday parties, work goals, family gatherings, holiday shopping, cooking, and more, that you don’t need added stress with your home on the market.  As long as you and your Realtor do your very best, don’t let it get to you if you don’t sell.  The right buyers will come at the right time!