Selling YOUR Home in ANY Season!
There are benefits to selling your home in each season; winter, spring, summer, and fall.
There are pluses and minuses in each but most of all there are definitely positive aspects to selling in each season.
While many people think selling in the winter time is a bad idea, this isn’t necessarily true. Selling in the winter has many positive aspects like:
The holiday season tends to create a time period when you put a little extra effort in cleaning and preparing for holiday visitors so the house is generally clean and tidy.
The holiday season also provides for a cozy, warm, family atmosphere that gives an ambience that’s only around during the winter season.
In winter people are familiar with certain soothing scents that make them feel reminiscent of days gone by such as cookies baking in the oven, pumpkin pies cooking, fresh Christmas trees wafting in the air, or baked apples and such. All of these scents are easily mimicked by scented candles, sprays, and potpourri available; creating an instant feeling of calm simply by using the buyers’ sense of smell.
The warmth of a home is instant when coming from a cold outdoor climate. Mix that with a warm décor that makes a person feel welcome and comfy and they can instantly feel themselves curling up on the couch in your home, especially if it’s staged properly to be inviting right at the entrance way.
According to LendingTree® more homes are sold in March and April than any other month. June and July continue with a fair sales amount but the spring time has many reasons for being the #1 season for home sales:
People have Spring Fever and are ready to get out of their house to do something. Open houses are a great way to get out of the house without spending any money, still take advantage of the sunshine of the spring day, and yet not have to worry too much about spring showers or cooler temps still being an issue.
People who buy in the spring generally have their closings near the summer months. This gives them a better time to move and allows for an easier transition if they have children moving from one school to another without having to leave their old school in the middle of the year.
Spring tends to bring color and happy feelings around. Decorating for the spring includes bright colors, freshly washed draperies and curtains and all the basics of spring cleaning. You can take advantage of that need to spring clean as a way to have your home in top shape for buyer’s to view your home.
Opening the windows on a fresh and warm spring day allows for the house to air out. Smells trigger a lot of reactions in the human body and the fresh smelling air flowing through the house and perhaps a burning candle scented in lilacs or roses or any fresh floral scent brings good feelings to anyone.
Dressing tables and mantles with fresh flowers, daffodils, tulips, lilacs and such brings a feeling of comfort to the home and again, a scent that brings happiness to anyone who smells it. Flowers just simply make you feel relaxed and fresh; who wouldn’t want to buy a home that’s fresh and clean looking and smelling on a bright spring day?
Summer sales can be good because buyers can take advantage of everything positive about summer itself; such as:
Longer days, allowing for more time to look at more houses in order to find their perfect home.
Gardens and lawns can be kept up and become a huge selling point when presented properly.
Backyards and patios can be turned into outdoor havens for potential buyers with simple and inexpensive fixes. A small fire pit on a patio with surrounding plants & flowers and nice outdoor furniture brings the home beyond the walls and into the outdoors so they not only fall in love with what’s inside but also with what’s outside.
Moving in the summer is much more appealing in certain climates than moving in the winter. The longer days also allow for more time to get the work done on moving day; often getting the entire job finished in a single day with the right crew to help the buyer move. Their summer move can end with a relaxing evening on the front porch, swinging on the swing you just put up and sipping iced teas or cocktails with friends.
Fall is one of those seasons that people tend to begin to literally snuggle in for the winter, preparing for the unavoidable cold. It’s also a time when there are certain aspects that appeal to those looking to buy a home. Fall can offer a number of positive effects that enhance the ability to sell your home such as:
Bringing the colors of fall indoors gives the home a feeling of nature and indoors blending together as one in a bright and colorful palette.
The warmth of the house on a crisp fall day or evening is very inviting; creating an atmosphere where a buyer can easily picture their family nestled in spending quality time together.
The sweet smells of fall come in all types of scents; from a home cooked meal in the oven to the scent of fresh apples. While there may not be a good “Pot Roast” scented candle available, the fall scents that are out there such as apple pie or cinnamon bun create an atmosphere that makes the nose tell the heart that this is “home”. You can also cook a roast in the crockpot during an open house or bake some cinnamon buns straight from the fridge before showing your home and that warm cozy fall feeling will hit the buyer where you want it to!
Fall weather can offer clear, crisp fall days to move instead of moving in the middle of a heat wave of a hot summer day. Moving in the winter can be a nightmare if you live in climates that get snow or ice and spring can present a lot of mud from rain that can end up being one big mess on your floors and carpets even from the most well-meaning friends.
There’s something about ending a day of moving with friends, gathered around a fire pit in the back yard to warm you on a crisp fall night that just finishes off the welcoming feeling of moving into your new house. The best part is that that feeling is shared with friends and family who’ve helped you get moved in, creating an instant “this is home” feeling.
Many people like to be moved in before the fall because they have kids. If your home is one that is more appealing to an older couple or younger couple who don’t have to worry about kids they may look at this time of year just because they don’t want the bother of a lot of competition when looking at homes. This means they’re probably more serious buyers who want to get the job done and be moved in before winter comes.
As you can tell each season offers a plethora of positive reasons to put your home on the market so don’t be afraid simply because of the time of year it may be. Take advantage of the positive aspects of the season and make your home into an inviting house that grabs the buyer’s the minute they walk in the door.