When it comes to selling a home, there is nothing more stressful than doing when the weather is not on your side. While summertime is the ideally the best time to sell your home (the weather is warmer, the grass is green and people are generally in a better mood), most of us are not blessed with this opportunity. If you need to sell your home in the winter, there are some extra steps you will need to take to make the sale. Bear in mind that this season does have a few advantages.
How to sell your home in the winter
- Remember to keep it clean
- Turn the temperature up
- Schedule showings when you can take advantage of natural light
- Keep the driveway and sidewalks plowed
- Have prospective buyers wear foot coverings
- Make your home festive if listing during the holidays
One of the worst things about winter is all the dirt and grime that accumulates. A clean home does not sell, and this season presents many problems. Remember to wash the floors and clear the entryway, and do not forget to wash the windows. Paying attention to your home’s outer appearance is just as important, but too many homeowners fail to appreciate this fact. Selling a home is a very psychological process; you do not want to give buyers the wrong impression.
Keeping your home warm is one of the best ways to please prospective buyers. There is nothing better than stepping into a cozy atmosphere, especially if the weather outside is cold and “frightful.” Take advantage of the fireplace if you have one. These little gems can do wonders. Think about it; even in the summertime, fireplaces are attractive features. What do you think the effect will be when buyers step into your home with the fire blazing at the hearth?
A major disadvantage to selling a home during the wintertime is the lack of light that is available. The days are shorter, which means you will need to strategically schedule your showings. Mid-mornings on the weekend are ideal. If you have to show your home when it is dark outside, remember to turn on all the lights and make the space as bright as possible.
To keep visitors safe and happy, you will want to completely clear away any snow and ice that may be present on your walkways. You want to make the experience as pleasant as possible for buyers; a great showing can quickly be ruined by slips, falls and stuck vehicles.
A great way to show your cleanliness and home maintenance standards is by requiring all visitors to wear protective coverings over their shoes. This not only works to keep your floors clean, but it also shows people that you care about the condition of the house.
Lastly, if you are scheduling showings during the holidays, feel free to decorate the house accordingly. A Christmas tree, lit candles, and music in the background may be all it takes to land the sale.
thanks a lot, I plan on using this advice and hopefully it works.
Wow, this is exactly the type of article I was looking for ! My family is selling our house and this tips will come in handy and fortunately we will sell the house in few weeks.
Thanks,
Andrei.
Good luck!
Thanks! With the financial crisis is very difficult to sell a house, but I hope for the best. Hope dies the last !
Lots of good advice! We started seriously looking at our house around Thanksgiving. The owners (coworkers of my husband’s) talked about how glad they were not to have to worry about decorating since they knew we’d seen it and didn’t really care!
I can’t imagine how frustrating it would be to have an open house during the winter. I don’t know if the agent would try to keep the entryway clean or not, but I can just picture coming back to grit and sand tracked all over and a mess to clean up! The idea of foot coverings is great. How much easier would that make things…
One of the nicest open houses I’ve ever attended was during the winter. The owners had the house tastefully decorated for the holidays, but what made it so memorable was the faint smell of apple cinnamon throughout the house. It was simply WONDERFUL!
No city would know this better than Toronto about selling your home in the winter. I agree, It’s imperative that you keep it toasty and warm when you are showing it along with great aesthetics.
that is really easy to follow and straight forward advice, i will be keeping that in mind if do end up selling our house,.
another tip i have heard was to bake cookies and lay them out so there is a lovely aroma in the air
Great advice for people who have to weather the winter, when selling their homes. Having the home warm is an excellent idea, nothing llike a warm house, if it is cold outside. Very good article.
Wow, this is really something. I really enjoyed reading all those brilliant tips which are carefully chosen in order to win over a buyer
Thank you for the tips! Is it true that cookies help boost sales? Or is it another stereotype from television? I really like the last tip (using decorations) because it shows how people can be influenced by external forces.
This will also be very helpful to me. I’d also like to add emphasis on keeping the property clean.
I am not planning of selling my house soon but if I ever do and it happens to be in winter time then I will more than surely use your tips. Thanks.
Nice post and you have a lot of good ideas. It can be difficult to really get a home to shine when it is cloudy and cold. However, it may be the best time to show because a potential buyer will know what it will look and feel like during the typically colder months in the north. Thanks for sharing!
I like your ideas on how we can houses during winter. It’s very hard to sell houses during winter, it’s too cold and it’s houses get a little messy, I’ll definitely follow your advice.
I’ve heard some people express concern that a prospective buyer might be offended if asked to wear foot coverings, but I would hope not – that’s extremely reasonable in that situation! Of course, keeping the temperature up is so important… most people are very uncomfortable when they are cold, and comfort obviously keys into buying a house.
It is all about the first impression! People usuallu decide whether they want something in the first five minutes. All the other time is spent on proving to themselves that the initial reaction was adequate.
It is all about the first impression! People usuallu decide whether they want something in the first five minutes.
I imagine it would be a challenge to sell in the winter, especially if there is a lot of snow and/or extreme cold.
I would think that anything and everything that can make the house toasty and warm would be beneficial. Perhaps having hot drinks available — coffee, tea, hot chocolate, spicy hot apple cider, etc. — would also help. If the house has a fireplace, then I would definitely want to have a fire burning.
This might help make the potential buyer feel quite literally more at home and out of the cold!
We’re lucky to live in S. California where when we did sell in winter it was overcast a little and cooler for sure…but generally pleasant. It would be SO hard when the weather really changes and everything. On buyers end it would be dramatically different to see the house under blankets of snow without knowing entirely how the neighborhood might look “bare” of the winter scenery! Things I had not really considered!