If you were to ask most people what the worst time of the year to sell a house would be, they would probably say winter. While it may not be the most popular time to sell or even buy a house, you can use some of our winter tips to help sell yours without much hassle.
With the right selling strategies and a bit of planning, your home will stand out and invite potential buyers right in. You’ll learn that there are benefits of selling your home in wintertime, and they will favor you in selling for a great price. We have gathered some awesome winter tips that will guide you on the right path and help you sell your house, regardless of the cold.
Reasons Why Selling in Winter is an Excellent Idea
Spring and summer are considered the optimum time to buy and sell houses, so the real estate market is usually overcrowded. This means that if you wait till then, the competition for buyers’ attention will be super high. In winter, however, very few people put in the effort to sell their homes in the cold, and because of this, low inventory will work in your favor.
You Can Showcase Your Home’s Winter Readiness
Selling your home in the wintertime means you can showcase how well it handles harsh elements to your potential buyers. If you recently replaced the furnace, this is the best time to showcase it. If you have a short driveway, you can make it seem good by telling them it takes less time to shovel snow.
Buyers will be even more impressed if your home has a fireplace or a hot tub. They’ll start imagining how that will work in their favor during cold seasons and view your house as a potential home for them.
Winter Brings Serious Buyers with It
Most of the time, you’ll find the market is saturated with people who are thinking of moving but haven’t made the decision yet. Hence, they look at what’s available in the market in the hopes that it’ll help them come to a decision.
However, no one is willing to go out viewing houses in the cold unless they really need to buy one. This means that most of your potential buyers are likely to make a purchase. It’s so much better to have several real buyers than a house full of curious people.
End of Year Bonuses and Corporate Relocations
At the end of the year, people get their performance reviews in their workplaces, which means during this time of the year, people have money to spare and spend on a new home. Growing families may take this opportunity to find a charming family home, and those who got promotions may have to relocate to other branches, hence the need to make a move before the New Year.
January and February are the biggest months for most corporate relocations, so there are bound to be serious buyers looking to move in quickly and get ready for work by the time the holidays are over. Some of these buyers have kids, and hence they need to find suitable schools, and so, the moment they find the right home, they’ll be ready to sign.
Possible Higher Offers
With serious home buyers and fewer sellers, you will have an excellent opportunity to sell for a reasonable price. If your selling strategies are superb, you are likely to get several contenders giving you offers, and you can choose the best one.
Awesome Winter Tips for Selling Your Home
Selling a house can be a complicated process, regardless of the weather, so if you add in the snow and the cold, it becomes quite tricky. As a homeowner who’s looking to increase their chances of selling their home at a great price this winter, there are certain winter tips you need to keep in mind.
Crank Up the Heat
A cold house will undoubtedly not sell. If your potential buyers shiver as they look around, the only thing they’ll remember about your home is how cold it is and how much they don’t want to live there. They may not even stick around long enough to view the whole house, let alone make you an offer.
There is nothing better than stepping out of the cold and into a warm and comfortable house. The warmth in your home will put the buyers at ease and show them that your heating system works great.
Cold homes send the wrong message, and even though it doesn’t need to be hot, it’ll pay off if you turn on the heater. Selling a home has so much to do with emotional connections, and a warm and inviting home will be easy to connect with.
Brighten Your Curb Appeal
It may be winter, and there may be little you can do about the snow, but first impressions still make a huge difference when selling a home. The first impression of a home is made based on the exterior, and the last thing you want buyers to see is how depressing it is.
A little snow should not be the reason why your best potential buyers leave without making an offer. The walkway needs to be clear because if potential buyers have to slip and slide before they even reach the front door, the battle will be lost as the rest of the house will not interest them.
Use Lighting to Your Advantage
Winter days are shorter and sometimes darker, so natural light may not work in your favor. Your artificial lighting, however, has you covered, so take full advantage of it. Turn on the lamps and lighting fixtures to banish all the dark corners and make the home even more inviting.
Take Care of Home Repairs
Don’t take advantage of winter to hide repairs that may turn out to be problems for the new homeowners. Instead, take care of all pending repairs and stage a property that’s in great working order so the new owners can be glad they bought your home.
Leaking gutters or roof tiles will be dead giveaways that your house is not a winter home because water will run down the walls. Instead, fix these issues and replace any fixtures that need replacing.
Watch Out for Ice Dams
In wintertime, there is usually a certain magical allure that everyone loves, even the beautiful icicle formations. However, these may be one of the reasons why you don’t sell your house this winter. Ice dams can easily form around the gutters and eaves, and they are likely to cause you tremendous damage by tearing off shingles and forcing water into the house.
The thing about water is that apart from damaging your ceiling, it will peel off the paint, ruin your insulation, and, if allowed to last long, cause mold as well. With all these issues combined, selling your home in wintertime will be near impossible.
Showcase Your Fireplace or Jacuzzi
If your house has a fireplace, this is the best time to start a fire and show it off. Having a fire going on at all times may not be feasible, especially if you are dealing with a wood-burning fireplace. However, you can ensure you have wood in there at all times to show the potential of lighting a fire and keeping the house warm.
If you have a gas fireplace, you can start it up anytime you have buyers, giving your home a nice ambiance. If you happen to have a jacuzzi or sauna, then you want to showcase that as well so buyers can imagine themselves relaxing in there during the colder seasons.
Emphasize Comfort
Apart from keeping the house warm and starting a fire, there are certain winter tips you can use to make your home look more comfortable. Make the interior lighting warm and cozy, place a cozy blanket on the sofa, and bake some cookies or pies so the house can truly smell like a home. Some relaxing music will also go a long way, because it’s the simple things that will make your home look appealing in otherwise not-so-good weather.
Price Your Home Right
Pricing a home right is an important part of selling houses in winter, and even though you’re facing less competition, it doesn’t mean you should set the price too high. There are risks involved in setting a price for a home too high, including the fact that it may remain in the market for too long.
The sooner you close the deal, the better because the last thing you need is to extend your home-selling process right into spring.
Embrace the Season
The biggest advantage you have of selling your home in wintertime is the holiday season. There may be challenges involved in selling your home to holiday buyers, but you can tap into the energy of the season and take advantage.
Start by decorating your home to make your home look attractive to home buyers and lure them in. Both exterior and interior decorations will make the home inviting and if you can decorate your Christmas tree and place gifts under it, even better. This will give them a peek into what their future will look like in your home.
However, avoid too many decorations as they may be too distracting and take attention away from the house. Ask buyers to take off their shoes before they come to avoid a dirty foot traffic, which could discourage other buyers.
Ready to sell your home this winter? Do you find our winter tips helpful? Check out our website for more awesome tips about selling your home.