Selling Your Seattle Home In Winter: Maximize profits and sell quickly with these 6 pro tips.
Statistically, spring and summer are a great time of year to sell your home, but life is life. Sometimes you’ll need to sell your home when it’s not sunny , 72 degrees with flowers in bloom. These professional real estate tips will help you sell quickly, even in winter.
Fortunately, in the Seattle area, we don’t have the harsh winters many other states do. We don’t generally need to worry about shoveling snow, however it can be wet, cold and icy.
Sellers who can wait, often do. This means putting your house on the market in fall and winter, gives you the advantage of less competition. This can mean more offers on your home.
“After months of inventory growth that more than quadrupled the number of homes buyers have to choose from, things got back on a seasonal track with new listings and total supply falling in October,” said Robert Wasser, a director with Northwest MLS, when comparing those metrics with September. — Seattle Real Estate News
Though the season is slowing in Seattle, the market overall is still hot. Buyers are buying. Home prices are rising.
So, how can you maximize the season and sell your home quickly?
Create Warmth
Create a warm, cozy interior with small touches. Turn on your gas fireplace or display candles when potential buyers are scheduled to come or you are hosting an open house. Keep the interior comfortable and warm. If your home is furnished, add a soft throw on your bed or sofa.
Maximize The Light
Puget Sound residents appreciate all the light they can get! Especially in winter. Clean your windows inside and out. If you don’t have time or have windows not easily reached, consider hiring a professional to clean the windows. It’s surprisingly affordable and well worth the detail most professionals provide.
Open the blinds and curtains to let all the natural light in. Use accent lighting to cast a warm glow when the nights get dark early. Upgrading your light bulbs to natural, full spectrum bulbs. This will create a brighter, inviting interior. In addition, be sure you don’t have any burned out bulbs. Give yourself every advantage to impress potential buyers.
Showcase Warmer Seasons
Just because it’s winter, doesn’t mean you can’t show your home in its summer glory. Use exterior photos in your real estate listing that show your yard in all it’s green finery.
Curb Appeal
You’ve heard it before. Curb appeal matters. Even though it’s frosty, soggy and cold during the Seattle winter months, you need to consider your home’s curb appeal. Trim your plants, keep fall leaves off the lawn, edge the lawn, keep the walkway clean. Flowers may not be blooming but keep things looking well maintained creates an inviting approach to your home.
Leverage The Holidays
Feel free to add a few holiday touches during the holiday months. A string of white lights, a Poinsettia plant on the dining table, a tastefully decorated Christmas tree. Neutral holiday symbols and decorations are a good choice when you are marketing your home to prospective buyers.
Clean and Declutter
No matter what time of year you are selling your home, displaying a clean, clutter free home is important. You want people to look at your home and envision themselves living there. You don’t want them wondering about your beer stein collection or travel adventures. Remove personal nick-nacks, photos, paperwork and random collections of personal items. After you remove all the extras, clean, clean, clean. When you are done cleaning, clean more.
When we live in a home, it’s easy to overlook things.
- Are there cobwebs in the game room?
- What does your floor look like?
- Are your electrical outlets clean?
- How are your carpets and area rugs?
- How do your shower heads and faucets look?
If you don’t have time, consider hiring a professional cleaner/organizer to help.
Summary
With a little planning, you can highlight the warmth of your home during the cooler months. A few simple steps mean you’ll sell your home quickly in a less competitive market. Contact VerraTerra Real Estate. We’ll help you market your home professionally for a fast sale, even during the darker winter months in Seattle.
