tips to ensure your home sells in the winter

It's not peak selling season, but these smart strategies will help you make sure your home looks good even when the weather is dreary.

The fall home-selling season is a lot like the college football season — both normally end around Thanksgiving, but a smaller postseason keeps going long after that.

It used to be that spring and summer were the hot times to buy or sell houses, but people are much more mobile now. If you want to sell your house these days, you don't necessarily have to wait until spring to put it on the market.

True, most would-be home buyers and sellers in colder climates still call it quits from late November until late February or so. There are fewer buyers and sellers in the marketplace during the winter, but they're all serious buyers and sellers. They all have a sense of urgency or they wouldn't be in the market at all.

But how can a would-be seller attract a buyer when there's ice on a home's walkway, snow covering the flower beds and little natural light to make a place look bright?

Here are five things homeowners must do if they want to heat up the chances of selling a property this winter:

1. Set a realistic price
House hunters expect discount prices in the winter, because they know that any homeowner who lists a property during the period really needs to sell. I recommend that sellers list their homes at realistic prices to begin with — without any extra "air" for haggling.

We've been in a buyers market for so long now in most of the country that buyers are trained to low ball. The best way to avoid that is to price a home accurately in first place.

2. Advertise with fresh pictures
If possible, you or your agent should commission your home's photos before it snows. If that's not feasible, make arrangements to have a photographer come out the first time the snow melts — even if it's just a brief winter thaw.

And Always change the photos after Seasonal decorations are down. There is nothing worse for dating a listing and making it look stale than Christmas Tree decoration pictures in February.

3. Maximize curb appealYou always want your home to have good "curb appeal" — a nice appearance that's apparent from the moment a would-be buyer pulls up to the curb — but winter snow and gloom make that tough.


To make the most of your home's wintertime look, I recommend making sure all autumn leaves and any dead tree branches are gone. Keep your home's driveway and paths free of snow and ice and put a nice, clean doormat in front.

You home might not have the same beautiful landscaping that it does in June, but you can at least make sure the property looks halfway decent. Again Holiday decor is great, until that holiday is over.

4. 'Stage' the interior for winter
A good real-estate agent or professional home stager can help you make your home's interior look warm and friendly no matter how dreary it is outside. You should start by decluttering the home, putting as much stuff as possible away — preferably in off site storage — to make your home look clean and roomy.

Lastly, baking cookies or an apple pie shortly before house hunters arrive. This will give your home an inviting smell when would-be buyers come in from the cold. Embrace the season and bring comfort and the feeling of home to would be buyers.

5. Have good interior lighting
You always want your home to look as bright as possible to potential buyers, but sparse winter sunlight can make that a real challenge.

Maximize all available lighting by having your home's windows professionally cleaned — inside and out — before you put your place on the market. Don't forget the storm windows.

Also consider replacing 40-watt bulbs with 75- or 100-watt versions — and put all lights on before every showing. You don't want an agent who's not familiar with the home showing it to a client and having to paw around to find the light switches.

On a side note during winter months your competition may not be doing any of these things. SO you have an edge if you do. As an agent I can tell you story after story of showing home after home slipping in driveways, no where to park without stepping into or walking through a snow bank. Tacky Christmas decor that the buyer and I spent time focusing on instead of seeing the homes potential. Freezing in vacant homes. climbing through snow banks to access a hidden key box. Digging in snow for a fallen key. Dark atmosphere and dark rooms. Then we would come to a clean pretty warm and bright home that felt like the season and home. 9 out a 10 times they offer on that home.