Tips For Selling a Home in Winter
Winter may not be the most popular time to sell a home, but this doesn’t mean you have to wait until the weather warms up to list your property. With the right strategy you can make your home stand out to potential buyers in a season where competition is less fierce, and buyers are highly motivated to purchase.
7 Tips to Sell Your Home in Winter
Selling a home has a lot to do with emotional connections. Often people will know they like a place within five minutes of walking through the door. Make it easier for buyers to connect with your home.
1. Make it Warm and Inviting
Now is not the time to be miserly with heating. People walking through your door should imagine themselves living in your home – something that is hard to do when they are shivering from the cold.
2. Clear the Ice and Snow
Your sidewalks and doorways should remain clear of snow and ice. It looks better, allows buyers access to the home, and ensures buyer safety (and limits liability). If you will be away while your home is on the market, ask your realtor or a neighbour to keep the entry clear and walkways sanded.
3. Showcase the Fireplace
If you have a fireplace, you should show it off to buyers. With a gas fireplace, it is easy enough to start it up before a showing and add some ambiance to your family room. Set up your wood burning fireplace with beautiful birch logs. Don’t have a fireplace? Consider investing in an electric model – when you move, you can take it with you. Over the holidays, a beautiful garland and stockings hung with care encourage buyers to dream of future holidays in their new home.
4. Let There Be Light
You only get so much daylight during the wintertime. Try to time the showings of your home for when the sun is still shining. It may take some effort to get buyers to your house before the workday ends, but there are obvious benefits to doing so.
Take the time to make sure you have all the interior and exterior lights turned on. Selling a home in the winter can be more challenging to show off your home’s exterior living areas, but it is well worth the effort.
5. Let’s Get Cozy
When buyers come in from the cold, you want their first impression to be that your home is cozy and inviting. A fluffy blanket on the couch and warm lighting creates visions of hot chocolate and Netflix. You don’t have to bake cookies for every showing, but a nicely scented candle or diffuser and relaxing music can create a cozy ambiance.
6. Embrace the Season
The holiday season is one of the greatest advantages you have while selling in winter. Your home is looking its best in its holiday finery. Keep the decorations simple and tasteful – you want buyers to focus on the house not your Grinch collection.
7. Share the Summer Fun
When the yard is snow covered, it is hard for buyers to imagine it in spring, summer, or fall. Do you have photos of the warmer seasons? It’s a great idea to include them in your listing and leave them out for showings. Your pool, beautiful gardens, and landscaping are all things that a buyer will not get to appreciate when you are selling in the winter. You can, however, make it easier for them to picture.
Why Sell a Home in The Winter?
Now that you know how to sell a home in the winter, you may be wondering if it is a good idea. There are some advantages with selling in the winter. The biggest competitive advantage a seller has in the wintertime is less competition. Typically there are far fewer homes for sale in the winter than at other times of the year.
Additionally, while winter is usually much slower for home sales, the buyers looking are almost always more serious. In December 2020, over 244 homes sold in the Kingston area. In 2021, year to date home sales are up 12% so it is likely that over 270 homes will sell this December.
Are you thinking of selling your home this winter? Contact us for a free, no-obligation home valuation.
