Sure, the housing market cools with the temperatures, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a competitive offer. Like any home listing in any season, a lot of your foot traffic depends on how well you market your home.
Although people are thinking something different during the winter days. For example, in cold weather climates the days are short and inclement weather is frequent. This drives the desire for comfortable homes and well-lit rooms, among other things.
More than half of buyers initially find their homes online, so aiming for maximum reach is of the utmost importance. This article will tell you how.
In fact, I just went under contract (without my own realtor) for a home listed on Zillow and Facebook Marketplace. I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone, but I have bought and sold about 14 homes in the last year and I am familiar with the market and how to sell without an agent. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t do it too.
So, what can you do to sell your home at the end of winter? Here are some ideas endorsed by top real estate agents across the country.
but first…
Are there any advantages to selling during the winter?
Buyers Are Motivated! Anyone shopping during the off-season is probably doing so out of necessity—not curiosity. On top of that, there is less vendor competition, and with the holidays there is more opportunity to take a break from work. (But this is a double-edged sword, as the time of year can also delay closings due to holidays, bank holidays, etc.)
However, when there are fewer homes—should you have an agent—you’re likely to get more attention from them because they have fewer transactions going on. Buyers can also look forward to tax breaks associated with home buying, so December listings can be beneficial and can also bring in motivated buyers for these purposes.
And now for the tips!
Top 4 Tips for Selling Your Home in Winter
1. Get the right picture.
This advice holds true for any season, and it gets customers in the door. This can be more difficult to do in the wintertime, as the snow can stay for weeks at a time. but better real estate photos on average You get offers up to 32 percent faster than typical homes!
It’s best to get photos of your home, patio, and yard before (or right after) the season arrives. A well-lit exterior will attract prospects to your listing, as well as a well-lit interior.
I’m good at photography, but as anyone who’s looked at multiple listings has probably noticed, the most attractive homes have the best photos. The interior is bright, minimal and clean in nature. You’re selling your house, aren’t you? Don’t hesitate to put some of your clutter into boxes that you put away for later. It will do wonders when showing a property – but also when photographing it.
You know that time frame of late afternoon/evening when your house is so well lit? I love that time of day, and so do many others. If you must take your own photos (which I do), try to take them during the day, the light makes your home look its best, without any direct sunlight.
Open the blinds, take out all the magazines and clutter, and find the right angle to reveal the most of a room (wide angle lenses are helpful for most shots). You can take professional looking photos yourself if you want. Everything I’ve just covered just takes a little bit of finesse and a lot more than that.
Connected: 7 ways to score hot deals this winter at cold-weather markets
Give viewers a good idea of the layout of your home. Have you ever looked at a house online and been unable to locate its layout? How easy was it for you to imagine yourself there? For me, not so easy.
My listing statistics routinely outperform competitors, and I firmly believe it is because of my pictures.
2. Stage it well.
If your home has the same layout as the one next door that is also for sale, how can you get an edge over the competition?
Consider the effects of staging on a home for sale. If you don’t, you’ll likely want to look at prior listings of homes in your area that look like they’ve been staged.
The house we bought was staged, and I kept photos of the listing just in case. Professional staging companies know how to get prospects to envision themselves in the property, and proper staging can increase your offer by as much as 5 percent!
Feng Shui is known to have a positive effect on home sales, and so does the comfort factor. Therefore…
3. Make it comfortable.
This doesn’t just mean beaming lights around and throwing blankets on the furniture. Cozy means keeping your home free of clutter, maybe some warmer/more neutral colored decor, and even some candles with a welcoming smell.
Make your home feel like home the moment you enter it while flaunting it. This is staging 101 and a proven strategy for getting yourself a higher offer.
Neutral colors will not only photograph better but show better. Capturing the coziness factor is extremely important – especially when winter season colors are softer and less vibrant.
It is difficult to get a good curb in the winter. You might consider buying a small spruce or two and planting them in pots or putting a wreath on your doorstep to give the area some greenery. Lighting is always good but not applicable for most showings, as many realtors prefer to show during the day. Adding a bird feeder nearby can make the home appear more natural, plus buyers will see local wildlife.
Connected: 16 tips to make sure your property is ready for cold weather
These things may seem small, but they can give a home a more “at home” and well-loved feeling. This in turn can make buyers more confident in making an offer.
4. Winterize.
There’s nothing worse than being pulled into a house that hasn’t been shoveled or cleaned. If the owner doesn’t try to shovel, what else don’t they try to do?
Will I get frozen pipes because it wasn’t winter in the house? Is the furnace properly maintained? What other big expenses are coming my way due to neglect?
These are all valid questions once you take into account something as small as not clearing the driveway. Fix that furnace, check your chimney, get your sprinklers out. Take care of everything that winter can do to prepare buyers for success in spring.
How do you think you would deal with a potential client at work who had $300,000 to $500,000 to invest? You are asking buyers to make a significant investment. Make sure you treat them as such.
Recognize That Winter Sales Aren’t Bad
Yes, inventory is historically lower in the winter time. Business probably slows down, as there are fewer buyers in the market. But less inventory means less competition for you.
Inventory is only down an estimated 25 percent during the cold season, so it’s not exactly a dead market. Buyers in the market will focus their attention on your home if you provide attractive listings to winter time searchers.
Back to my listing that just went under contract: I had three offers within 48 hours of my listing last week. Yes, it’s in a competitive market, but when that same market was even more competitive and I was learning to do my own listings, I wasn’t getting this kind of attention.
Competitive listings get you competitive offers, it’s that simple.
Do you have any other tips to offer sellers who are trying to clear out a property over the winter?
Share in a comment below!
Note by BiggerPockets: These are the views expressed by the author and do not necessarily represent the views of BigPockets.
