Did you know that home sales go down by 24% during winter? Even though some people buy houses during the coldest months, it is not the easiest time to sell.
Therefore, it is necessary to know some tips for selling your home to ensure that you can finalize your plans of relocating on time.
Winter home sales do not have to be too complicated, especially if you take the right steps to make your home irresistible for buyers. Here is everything you need to know to help prevent snow-covered roofs and icy streets from making your property look dreary.
Selling My Home in the Winter
Winter is rarely the ideal time to put a home on the market. Unless you live somewhere that has sunshine all year round, there are many things to consider if you wonder if homes sell in the winter.
Remember that your goal is to ensure that your property looks cozy. This can be a real challenge during winter if you are not careful.
You need to provide a warm ambiance, figuratively and literally. Even if Jack Frost is at your door, it is possible to change things around to motivate buyers to go property hunting even if it is cold.
Tips for Selling Your Home
The first tip is to clear a path. This is crucial because walking in the snow can be a dangerous experience for most people. Even if flakes are still falling, you should try to shovel the path consistently to clear it of any snow.
This is because snowdrifts can hide a lot of dangers that can lead to a serious disaster if you are not careful. Footprints on the fresh snow will turn to ice when the temperature changes.
Therefore, it is necessary to sprinkle some salt or sand on the path around your house. This will help create a more appealing walkway that visitors will trust. Always open a path from the street to your sidewalk.
Then buyers will not have to push past drifts to come and check out your property. It also helps to keep a rubber mat by your front door. When it is wet and cold, you should consider laying a container to hold everyone’s shoes and umbrellas.
1. Focus on Light
Winter can make everything seem dreary. It is the season when nothing feels better than sitting inside and sipping hot chocolate by the fire. It helps to open your shutters and pull up the blinds to make your property stand out for winter home sales.
You can also push your drapes back on every window to show off any outdoor scenery that can inspire buyers to make an offer. You should also consider turning on the lights throughout the house, including closet and appliance lights.
This will help you brighten all your dark rooms, especially if you do not have any windows. Remember that buyers want to walk into a cheery and homey atmosphere instead of a cold and dark room.
2. Make Things Sparkle
This is one of the best home selling tips because first impressions are everything. If a buyer sees your property and is unhappy with how it looks, you are in for a very tough home selling process.
It is very beneficial to wash all your windows to enhance those daylight hours that will make your home shine. The other most important chores are cleaning out all the cobwebs and dusting ceiling fan blades, furniture, and all your light fixtures.
If required, you should also bleach any dingy grout and re-caulk your sinks, showers, and tubs. The next step is to polish your mirrors and chrome faucets. It also helps to clean out the refrigerator even though someone else may not open it.
You want to ensure that there are no pungent smells lingering in your kitchen from expired food. Always ensure that you vacuum the entire property daily, especially if you have carpeting.
Otherwise, you must polish and wash your floors to prevent dirt and grime from settling on them. Finally, empty your recycling bins and trash cans daily to ensure that there are no unpleasant odors that would put off prospective buyers from making an offer.
3. Stage Your Home
You also need to eliminate any personal clutter as much as possible. However, this needs to be done for every season. Remember that it is necessary to help buyers imagine themselves living cozily and happily in your property.
Otherwise, people will get put off by all your clutter and will not be able to have their own dream that will inspire a decent offer.
You can alternatively consider hiring a professional stager to create a flow path that will make buyers fall in love with your home.
They can also help you get the best route for a buyer to walk through your home without shining a light on areas that you do not want others to see.
For instance, during winter, it may not be safe to walk around the deck if it is frozen. However, a professional can help you create another path free of clutter to help someone view your property with ease.
4. Bring Some Heat
If you want to successfully sell your home during winter, you will need to turn up the heat. The best thing to do is to nudge up your thermostat a few notches to ensure that you provide a comfortable temperature inside.
This way, buyers will want to linger in your home longer to feel motivated to make an offer. If they are standing in the middle of your living room and freezing to the bone, they will not want to spend a minute longer than they need to.
The cold will also make them change their mind about buying. This is because people want a warm and cozy place to call home. If your property does not have the right temperature, it will ruin a buyer’s dreams, and they will seek another home to invest in.
Although the cold from winter is not anybody’s fault, it always helps to set the thermostat at 65 degrees. Then you will not overdo it, and the temperature will also help protect your plumbing pipes during extremely cold weather.
Before it starts snowing, you should also heat the house a couple of degrees warmer than the temperature you have set at normal. This will prevent heat from kicking on when the buyer is around.
Remember that they need to feel that the cozy temperature is natural and not timed perfectly for their arrival. It also helps to have a decent HVAC system that does not make a lot of noise.
If you have a fireplace, you should always open the damper. Then place a screen in front and avoid leaving anything attended for too long.
5. Create the Ambiance
The ambiance is everything when it comes to selling a house. You want your rooms to be cozy, inviting, and warm. Besides the previous tip to crank up the heat, you should also make your living room look romantic by placing a few champagne glasses on the dining table.
A professional stager can help you with this because they will know how to create the right scene to please buyers. It also would not hurt to throw some nice cushions over the sofa arms.
You should also dress your dining room for a dinner for two people. This will impress the buyer to imagine bringing home dates for a romantic evening in their future home.
After dressing the dining table, set a breakfast tray on the bed with some decorations to help the buyer envision waking up to breakfast in bed on their anniversary or birthday.
Your bathroom should also look like a tranquil spa. This can be done by hanging some plush robes near the door. You can also place some beautiful towels in baskets with a sophisticated arrangement of soaps and lotions.
These details will help you evoke a sense of summer, especially if you place some vases around with summery flowers to get a buyer’s mind off snow and rain.
When it comes to scents, always go easy on them to protect people with allergies. Do not spray too much in the air or use plug-in fresheners. It is best to go for natural scents like baking cookies or simmering spices while giving a tour of your property.
Sell Your Home Today
Now that you know the best tips for selling your home in winter, it is time to start cleaning and staging to create the coziest atmosphere that will make a buyer fall in love with your house.
Remember that selling a property during winter is never easy because of how harsh the cold can get. However, you can always save a lot of time and hassle by choosing iBuyer.com to help you get the best deal for your property.
No matter what season it is, we are always here to help you get an instant offer. Submit your address today so we can make the home selling process easier than ever.
