In the past, springtime has always been thought of as the optimal season to sell your home. Over the past 15 years, the idea that spring is the perfect season to sell your home has slowly been changing.
Listing your home during other seasons is becoming just as popular as the spring.
Winter can certainly provide some benefits to selling your home.
One reason the selling season has extended to most of the year is the internet. Buyers can sit in the warmth of their homes and view your home on their smartphone, tablet or computer without ever stepping out into the cold.
They will only come out when they find a home that catches their attention.
Is Winter A Bad Time To Sell Your Home?
Selling in the winter can provide a homeowner with some great advantages that the spring season might not afford you. Winter could be a great time to sell your home.
I always recommend my sellers don’t wait until April or May to put your home on the market, but to get their homes on the market by mid-February to the beginning of March and beat the spring market and take advantage of the winter real estate market.
Selling your home in the winter can provide some distinct advantages.
Less Competition
Seasons outside of spring can provide the real estate market with less inventory. And, with less inventory, that allows your home to stand out in the buyer’s eyes and catch their attention.
With spring, there is a lot of market “noise”.
That noise includes overpriced homes on the market with sellers who are testing the market and may not be serious about selling at market value. Those sellers will often not sell unless they obtain an unrealistic price for their home.
The problem is, more inventory creates a lot more work for buyers to sort through. It may just lump your home in with a slew of others and it can get lost.
If sellers take the time to put their homes on the market during the winter, they are serious about selling.
Buyers Are Motivated
Just like sellers testing the market in the springtime, there are plenty of buyers just kicking tires.
The cold weather eliminates the buyers that aren’t serious about buying. The looky-loos that aren’t really in the market, don’t want any inconvenience.
If the home buyers are venturing out in the winter season, they are serious home buyers.
Don’t forget jobs change, families grow, and financial situations change at all times of the year. The need or desire to buy a home is not just limited to springtime.
January Is The Biggest Corporate Location Month Of The Year
The two biggest corporate relocation months are January and February. Talk about motivated buyers. Corporate relocation buyers are extremely serious and extremely motivated.
Taking advantage of the winter months to sell your home also means tapping into some of the best buyers in the marketplace.
Winter Readiness
Winter will be the season that will be the toughest on a home. You have roofs shedding the constant flow of melting snow, furnaces that need to heat the house, windows that need to keep the cold drafts out, weather stripping around the doors, etc….
The winter real estate market is a great market to show off the winter readiness of your home and your home’s condition.
Selling Your Home During The Winter
The time to sell your home is when it is ready, regardless of the season. Don’t wait for spring, embrace the winter market.
The 2022 real estate market has shown us that a real estate market can turn on a dime. Waiting 3, 6 or 9 months to sell your home can provide less than ideal results.
Winter is a perfect time to make your home stand out with less competition from other homes on the market.
8 Home Selling Tips For Winter
The key to showing your home during the winter months is to make it warm and inviting. Show that your house is the perfect home for weathering those New England Northeasters that pop up.
Don’t Forget The Basics
All the basics still apply to preparing your home for selling your home in the winter which applies to every other season.
A deep clean, decluttering and depersonalization are still the first steps to preparing your home for the winter home selling season.
Getting your home show ready for the winter starts with the basics and then adding a few finishing touches to make it ready for those highly motivated winter buyers.
Light It Up
With winter comes much shorter days. And with shorter days comes less light. Here in Massachusetts, it is getting dark between 4-4:30 pm.
Of course, you will get some daytime showings. But a majority of your weekday showing will be after work when it is dark.
Your home should be lit up as potential buyers approach your home from the street. And. Make sure the driveway and walkway is lit up adequately to prevent trips and falls.
Make sure each room has adequate lighting to show off each living space. Consider adding floor and table lamps if need be.
Use Timers
If you are leaving your home just for a showing, light it up!!
But if showings are occurring when you might not be home, consider using timers for outdoor lights and the lights in your home when showings might occur after dark when you might not be home from work yet.
Remember showing your home in the winter is about creating a warm and inviting experience. The first step is to avoid the agent and the buyer fumbling to look for a light switch.
Clear The Ice and Snow
Make sure access to your home is easy and safe. Pay extra attention to removing snow and ice, so there are no slipping hazards.
I have tried to show homes where I couldn’t even open the storm door, the snow was piled so high. Guess what, the showing didn’t occur. We didn’t have access. Make sure your home has safe access to all the areas of your home.
And, don’t forget to consider rear patios and decks. Outdoor living areas can be a vital component of a house that buyers want. Make sure they know they are there.
Keep It Warm
You may want to try saving money by turning your heat down when no one is home.
But showings for your home can pop up at any time. Sometimes you may get 12-24 hours notice. Other times you may only get a few hours.
Keep your home inviting by making it feel warm and cozy.
A cold house will make buyers question whether there are problems heating the space or if the home is poorly insulated.
Let them focus on important things and not worry about things that probably aren’t even true.
Stage Your Entry
Winter requires more clothing to stay warm… boots, jackets, gloves and hats can get out of control.
Entry points should be clean, organized and uncluttered and not overwhelmed by the family’s winter wear.
If you can’t be organized and don’t have enough storage for your winter wear, your potential home buyers are going to wonder how they can be organized.
Avoid Strong Scents
Refrain from using any form of fragrance to try to make your house smell better. Buyers could be sensitive to certain scents.
Often a home buyer will be suspicious of what a home seller may be covering up if strong scents are used.
Highlight Seasonal Areas of Your Home
If your residence includes a swimming area, beautiful perennial gardens or a nice patio for hosting guests, display them in pictures.
Winter may cover up some of the home’s exterior features. Include photographs of the outside areas during a different season, looking its best in the Multiple Listing Service.
It could be beneficial to leave out some photos on a table during your winter showing to help your buyers visualize your outdoor areas.
Summary
Houses do sell in the winter. And, the winter selling season is becoming more popular.
Savvy home sellers understand that if a buyer is trudging out into the snow to view a home, they are serious buyers. Tap into the winter home buyers by showing off your home at is best during the winter season.
Other Real Estate Resources:
- Did you ever why real estate agents push “neutral colors”? Neutral colors allow a home buyer to mentally move their belongings in and see the space as their own. Neutral colors allow for the greatest amount of possibilities.
- Cleaning is an important step in preparing your home for sale. Learn what areas of your house you should pay close attention to when cleaning your home.
- Want to sell your home quickly? Check out these expert staging tips to get your home sold in days and not months.
- A few weekends of preparing your home for sale can go a long way in getting your house sold quickly and for top dollar. Check out this home-selling guide
How To Sell A House Without A REALTOR in Massachusetts is provided by Kevin Vitali of EXIT Realty. If you would like to sell or buy a home, give me a call at 978-360-0422 and let’s get the process started.
REALTOR Services in the following areas: Northeast Massachusetts, Merrimack Valley, Northshore and Metrowest. Including the following communities and the surrounding areas- Amesbury, Andover, Billerica, Burlington, Chelmsford, Dracut, Groveland, Haverhill, Lowell, Melrose, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleton, North Andover, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Wakefield, Wilmington, Westford
