It’s the most wonderful time of the year... to sell?
Snow and icy roads galore 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 sale.
If you’ve been contemplating whether you should brave the snow and list your home now, well 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% in 2021, and the digital touch continues to stay strong in the present 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 & Methods
This is one of the busiest times of the year and with extra hurdles to jump this year like planning holiday celebrations online and shipping holiday gifts to family in time, free time might be hard to come by. The good news here is that most folks do tend to take more time off work around the holidays leaving more time to search for their new home. Once the holidays are over, there are a few 3-day weekends in January that are perfect to host virtual or in-person open houses and schedule showings.
Work With What You Have
When the sun sets at 4 PM and your beautiful lawn is covered by snow, it’s a lot harder to show off your home’s exterior. Make sure that your lights around the house - holiday and decor lights, as well as year-round outdoor lighting, 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 disclose those upgrades to us as we'll make sure that any potential buyers are aware of upgrades being made around the house.
Keep Budgets & Timelines in Mind
As we wrap up the end of the year, a lot of people are tied up with other financial obligations such as holiday gifts, paying taxes, and making sure their own houses and vehicles are winter-ready. While typically this may cause a lot of buyers to not want to invest in a home at this time of year, the winter also holds some unique opportunities. Buyers are competing by offering over asking and homes are selling quickly - the holidays may slow that down a bit, but we expect things to heat up again by the time the trees have all been taken down.
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 snow and slush people bring through the door, and you will need to keep up with messes that come with all the wrapping paper and holiday prepping. You’ll also end up plowing the driveway and sidewalks for any potential visitors rather consistently.
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.
Are you looking to buy or sell? Are you struggling to find where to start?
In today's real estate market, you need to make sure you have a trusted, experienced Broker on your side to help you find those hidden gems, navigate bidding wars, secure the best offer, or stoke the fire to encourage bids. Contact Real Estate Broker, Tamara Williams, at 406.223.6823 to answer any of your questions and get the information you need to be successful.
Check out what our clients have to say about working with Tamara Williams and Company.
"Tamara Williams just sold a property for me. She is savvy, professional, efficient, and most of all connected! She is a tremendous resource as a seller's agent. A huge thank you to her and her team!" - Kim
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