Is it a good time of the year to sell?

Bitter cold temperatures are upon us but winter may still be a great time to sell your home - especially if you're ready to get settled by spring. There tend to be more serious buyers in the winter season and coupled with there being less competition on the market it's possible that listing your home during the winter will help you secure a fast, top-dollar sale.

If you’ve been contemplating whether you should brave the cold and list your home now we've made a list of 5 things that will help you sell your home before the weather warms up!

Put Your Best Foot Forward Online

As Dave Ramsey says, “the internet has no seasons.” Since most people would rather be cozied up on the couch in the winter and virtual showings are the first step for most buyers right now, making sure your home has a good online presence is very important. Most buyers will start their search online before in person. In fact, according to NAR the share of home buyers who used the internet to search for a home increased to an all-time high of 97% this year. 

Leveraging the power of high-quality photography, virtual walk-through tours, and videos has never been so important but when you pair it with cold weather and snow it becomes vital. 

Be Flexible in Showing Times and Methods

This is one of the busiest times of the year and with extra hurdles to jump through like virtual school and working from home, free time might be hard to come by. Take advantage of weekends and get away Saturday and Sunday. That way you do not have to restrict showings and we can host virtual open houses and schedule tours.

Offering a virtual tour option for your home is vital in today's world so don't be surprised if you're getting a lot of showings over FaceTime or Zoom - that doesn't mean a buyer is any less serious. 

Work With What You Have

When the sun sets at 5 PM and your once beautiful green lawn is now dormant, it’s a lot harder to show off your home’s curb appeal. Make sure that your lights around the house, are all set up and turned on when the sun goes down. If you took advantage of the warm weather this summer by making some improvements to your curb appeal make sure to list out those upgrades to us as we'll make sure that any potential buyers are aware of upgrades being made around the house.. 

Keep Budgets and Timelines in Mind

After coming off the holidays, a lot of people are tied up with other financial obligations such as paying down holiday debt and paying taxes. While typically this may cause a lot of buyers to not want to invest in a home at this time of year, this year is anything but normal. Buyers are competing by offering over asking price and homes are selling quickly - you would think colder months would slow that down a bit but with low interest rates and historically low inventory levels, it's hotter than ever.

Staying "Show Ready" Makes a Difference

While keeping your home show-ready during the winter may be more difficult it's not impossible. You’ll need to minimize the amount of stuff that typically piles up in an entryway. Put coats and gloves away in a closet or storage basket, and don't leave extra shoes and boots laying around. You’ll also want to keep sidewalks and steps up to your house cleared for any potential home showings.

Keep things cozy and warm inside by turning the lights on, putting the heat up a couple of clicks and of course lighting a fire if you can. Baking cookies ahead of time leave a warming fragrance in the air as well and make people feel more at home.