Blog > Selling This Holiday Season? 5 Tips To Help You Sell Your Home This Winter

Selling This Holiday Season? 5 Tips To Help You Sell Your Home This Winter

by www-localnests-com

The holidays may seem like a crazy time to sell, but there are a few pros to selling during the holidays. Competition is less fierce, home buyers are more serious, and real estate agents aren’t as busy as they are in the summer.

And you can still attract home buyers during the holiday season if you have the right strategy.

If you’re looking to sell your home this winter, here are a few tips that will help you sell during the holidays.

1. Have Professional Photos Taken Before You Decorate

Most buyers start their home search online these days, so it’s important to make a good first impression by having professional photos taken.

It’s relatively easy to get great exterior shots of your home in the height of summer or fall when the sun is shining, flowers are blooming, and foliage is lush. But in winter, it’s more difficult. A pro can help make sure your home is shown at its best—inside and out.

Ideally, have photos taken before you decorate for the holidays. If your home doesn’t sell by January, you’ll want photos that don’t have holiday decorations in them. If you really want a photo or two with your holiday decor, that’s ok—just make sure they are removed from the listing after the holidays.

Also, if you have some nice external shots of your home from summer, include those in the listing as well so potential buyers can see what your yard looks like underneath all that snow (it’s ok if these aren’t professionally done).

2. Don’t Forget About Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is important all year long, but it can be harder to pull off in the winter. With your lawn covered in snow and trees bare of leaves, you have to work harder to make sure your home is attractive (and safe) to buyers.

Make sure access to all doors is easy and efficient. Clear your walkways and driveway of snow, and make sure the lockbox is easy to access. If sidewalks are icy, salt them and clear off as much of the ice as you can. Clear icicles off the edges of your roof as well.

Since your beautiful lawn and gardens are covered in snow, include some simple, tasteful winter decor on the front of the home. Make it feel inviting with greenery and a welcome mat. Stage your porch or front step like you would your interior spaces.

3. Don’t Go Overboard With Holiday Decor

If you decorate for the holidays, be careful not to overdo it. You want your home to feel spacious and open, with a good flow throughout. Too many decorations can crowd your home and be a distraction to buyers.

Use your decorations as a way to highlight your home’s best features, rather than detract from them. For example, if you have a beautiful fireplace mantle, don’t cover it up with too much decor—instead, decorate sparingly to help draw attention to the mantle and the fireplace beneath it. Or if you have a great view from your windows, don’t block it with a huge Christmas tree.

Remember that the features that made you love your home when you bought it (or the ones you’ve added since) are likely the same features that will sell your home to a new buyer.

The general rule with decor for your listing (during the holidays and all year long) is to keep it simple. You want buyers to be able to picture themselves living in the home with their belongings. Most buyers will have a hard time seeing through tons of decor.

4. Keep It Clean and Cozy

Do your best to keep your home clean and clutter-free while it’s on the market. This can be harder during the holiday season because we’re so busy preparing for the holidays…but it really makes a difference in how potential buyers perceive your home.

Place extra rugs or towels at the door to help with wet, snowy boots. If there is a sliding door to the deck or patio, make sure to put a rug there too. More likely than not, buyers will want to check the deck out.

Taking it a step further, ideally your home should feel cozy and inviting during showings. Turn up the heat a little, turn the fireplace and holiday lights on…you may even want to put out a plate of holiday treats! Your home should feel like an oasis—an escape from the harsh winter weather.

Making buyers feel at home during showings will inspire them to spend more time there admiring your home’s best features and imagining themselves living there.

5. Price To Sell

Priced too high, your home will sit on the market longer than it should. This is true any time of the year, but especially so in the winter.

Rather than starting off high and making gradual price reductions, price your home right the first time. It’ll sell faster—which means you won’t have to deal with interruptions from home showings for very long.

A good real estate agent will help make sure your home is priced to sell. They’ll look at housing market trends, what comparable homes in the area have sold for, and other factors to help ensure your price is right.