Selling Your Home in Winter
Spring and summer are usually the best months for the real estate market, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get a great return on your investment when selling your house during winter. Here are some ways you can make selling your home easier during an unpredictable time of year.
Emphasize Energy Efficiency
Heating bills are one of the biggest expenses that many homeowners have. Energy efficiency is a great thing to highlight when selling your house during winter.
A home inspector will help you identify areas for improvement during a pre-listing inspection, like gaps where drafts are coming in. Make those changes and highlight them to your prospective buyers to make your house more attractive. Things like solar panels, window treatments, smart thermostats, and energy-efficient furnaces are all appealing to buyers.
Stage Your Home With Coziness in Mind
When selling your house during winter, you want to stage your home so that it feels warm and inviting. Use items like throw pillows and blankets on your furniture to make the space more comforting, and light a fire in your fireplace when showing the home to potential buyers.
Avoid having any holiday decorations in place for your listing photos, as they will look odd if your home is still on the market after the new year.
Invest in Curb Appeal When Selling Your House During Winter
Curb appeal is a big deal for sellers during spring and summer, and many homeowners invest in new flowers, pruning, and professional landscaping services.
While winter means bare trees and shrubs, that doesn’t mean you should forget about curb appeal. Put out planters and hanging baskets right before home showings to brighten the entrance. Clear driveways and walkways of snow and ice.
Illuminate Your Space Effectively
Selling your house during winter means doing so when the days are short and the light is low. Because you won’t have as much natural light as other seasons, add more lighting around the property.
Replace the bulbs in all your interior and exterior lights and make sure they are in good condition. Adding extra lamps to certain rooms will brighten up your home as well.
Selling Your House During Winter Requires You to be Flexible for Showings
When the weather is warm and pleasant, it’s easier to leave the house and do other activities when a potential buyer wants to come over for a showing. This is harder to do during winter, as your options will be more limited.
Plan ahead so that you can maintain the same flexibility that you might have in warm weather. Snow and winter weather can also lead to cancellations, so be understanding with agents and potential buyers who need to reschedule.
Home Support Property Inspections provides pre-listing inspections to Maryland and DC. Contact us to request an appointment.