You don’t need to see the statistics to wonder if selling your home during Winter is ideal. With everyone’s gears switching more towards making a place our friends and family can call home and opening our doors to share Thanksgiving meals and Christmas morning with loved ones, packing up and moving into a new home isn’t at the top of anyones list. But don’t rule out a Winter move just yet! Here are a few tips to selling your home during Winter that is sure to get buyers through the door.
Get Your Clean On
Because of the naturally gloomy days of Winter, it’s easy for that gray gloom to creep into the nooks and cranny’s of your home. Give the areas of your home where it should be white and shinny a facelift! Consider re-caulking around tubs and showers and breaking the bleach and a toothbrush out for any grout that needs some love. Get rid of the cobwebs and dust and make sure rugs and floors are vacuumed and clean. I recommend asking agents and their clients to remove their shoes or using shoe covers, but especially in the Winter months when it’s wet and muddy to prevent needing a major cleaning post-showings.
Get the Heat Going
The goal of showing your home to potential buyers is to remove as many distractions that bring their mind away from the home and space. One way to make the showing more comfortable and that will get your buyers lingering longer inside is to make sure the thermostat is set to a comfortable degree. Have a fireplace? Light it up! Or you can light a cracking wic candle for a nice effect.
Get Your Windex Out
There’s a reason why depression rates rise during Winter months, it’s more gloomy and dark. One fight home owners make when they sell their home in the Winter is getting enough natural light in their home. Don’t neglect the year-round rule of turning ALL your lights on in every room but also consider how you can let the most light in from windows. Natural light is a desirable must-have on many home buyers list, so push back your curtains and open your blinds! Washing your window’s often can help let more natural light in by removing water stains. Don’t forget to trim down any shrubbery that comes up into the window area and windex the interior panels before showings since the bright snow outside will draw buyers eyes to the windows and you don’t want them noticing the fingerprints over your stunning view.
Get Your Shovel Handy
Every Summer our family heads to Lake Tahoe to enjoy the crisp water and a week of family time on the boat in that crystal clear water. One year, when my husband was little, they decided to take a Winter trip and drove through the evening to avoid traffic and hopes that my husband and his brother would sleep. They arrived around 1am to a Winter Wonderland, except that wonderland soon became a nightmare when they realized the long boardwalk to the front door was piled 4 feet high with snow and no one had been to the cabin in weeks. An hour and half later, my father-in-law had made a tunnel so they could get inside. If you live in a place where it snows, PLAN AHEAD! Use a de-icer (that’s safe for your driveway!) and shovel early and often to keep a clear path that’s safe for buyers to walk on.
Make it Festive
The one time a year to possibly get a little more specific with staging is around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Help buyers see themselves hosting Thanksgiving in this home by setting the table with festive wear or perfectly placing a Christmas tree in the right space, especially if you have vaulted ceilings — show off that feature with an extra large tree. Don’t be afraid to use mild (*keyword, here, guys*) candles that remind them of the holidays or even have holiday treats and snacks, like apple cider or Christmas cookies for them to enjoy. Our team specialized in staging and we offer this service at NO additional cost to our sellers.
So, whether you’re like me and the holiday season and New Year approaching makes an itch for change, or maybe you’re relocating at this time in the year, selling your home during Winter can not only be successful, but worth the investment. If you’re curious about how much your home is worth, let me do a free market analysis and find out if selling during this season is the right next move for you.
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