Selling Your Home in the Winter: Tips to Lure Buyers from the Cold

There’s no perfect time to buy or sell a home, but the winter months in particular can present unique challenges to home sellers. Generally, there are fewer buyers around the holidays and during the winter months, which can mean less competition and harder work on the part of the seller to secure attractive offers when it’s the off-season for the market. While it may not be a seller’s first choice to list their home during the winter, life events can occur that make it a necessity. To ensure your home looks its best during a winter viewing, the staging process requires additional attention to detail when the weather is chilly and daylight hours run short.
Consider the following tips to best show off your home and display its full potential for buyers:

Warmth
A comforting glow can make a home seem especially inviting during the cold, winter months, so for the most optimal winter viewing, ensure that your home appears warm and welcoming by maximizing the right kind of light. If you show your home in the evening, pick lighting that presents a warm glow to each room. If showing during the day, open the blinds so the space feels bright and open.

Winterized Features
During the winter, a buyer can find an enclosed garage, a new water heater, and efficiency upgrades for heating all the more appealing, so be sure to highlight these features if your home has any such attributes, as they are particularly important when it’s cold. A buyer will walk away feeling confident that the property is well suited to cold weather issues.

A Home for All Seasons
Provide potential buyers with a photo album of your home to display how it appears during other seasons.

Curb appeal
Maintaining the exterior of your home is just as important during the winter. Having a tidy exterior and a clear walkway will show buyers the home is not neglected when the temperatures drop. Leaves littered all over the ground or snow piled up on the walkway don’t make for an inviting appearance.

The Right Temperature
You don’t want potential buyers to walk through your house shivering, so make sure the home is set to a comfortable temperature if it’s cold outside so they feel cozy when they view the property. If you have a fireplace, it may be a good idea to light a fire as well to enhance the coziness and warmth of a room.

With these tips, your home will shine and sparkle during the dreary winter months.