Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Top 5 Myths About Listing Home During Winter


The leaves are changing colors and there is a chill in the air most of the days.

This is the time of year that a lot sellers start changing their mind about listing their home and get into the mentality that they are going wait until the Spring to try and sell.  Here are the top 5 myths about listing in the Winter...Fact or Fiction?

1.  Nobody buys homes in the Winter.  This is Fiction.  There are still buyers out there looking to buy homes.  The inventory of homes available to purchase during the warmer months was already low, with the number of homes available during the cold months dropping it will be event harder to find homes.  The upside to this is that there is less inventory to have as competition and you will have great comps to price your home since we look at what has happened in the past 6 months.  Those listing in the Spring will have to rely on these Winter sales to price their homes.

2.  My house doesn't look best in the Winter because everything is dead.  This is Fiction.  The holidays are one of the most beautiful times to list homes and have amazing pictures show.  With holiday trees and garlands and stockings hung by the chimney with care, it can really up the sense of feeling at home and the potential buyers will be able to get a feel of what their own holiday seasons would be like in your home.

3.  There are no more houses listed on the market.  This is almost FACT.  This is the season that many people decide to put off selling their home.  As I stated above, it can be at a huge advantage to take advantage of this opportunity and have your home available when others are not.

4.  The only lookers are thieves scoping out our holiday presents.  This is 99% Fiction.  Although there are always going to be humans with malicious intentions, 99% of people do not have this intention.  Not only with a buyer be accompanied by an agent as they go through your home, but it is highly encouraged that you don't leave holiday gifts out in the open.  If you have small children, they don't usually get put out until the night before anyways, right?  Don't give someone an open invitation to see all of your generosity, but don't hold back in your decorating.

5.  I will have to always clean off my drive and walk for people to walk through.  It will be a mess.  This is a FACT, but there is more to it.  You have to clear off your drive and walkway because it is convenient for you and your family AND it is mandatory if you live in a neighborhood.  With melting snow, there is a chance that things could get messy.  But there is a solution for this as well.  Put out a Welcome mat for guests to be able to wipe their feet on.  This is something that can grab their attention right from the beginning.  It is not against the law to ask people to remove their shoes when viewing the house.  Just make sure that you have a mat or something on the inside where they can leave them that won't make a mess.  Also, you can always take it one step further and provide booties to cover their shoes with.  This is usually very convenient when you have on lace-up boots that are inconvenient to take off an put on over and over.

Take advantage of this opportunity to sell your home when others are slacking.  If you want the best real estate group in town, give me a call today to look at what we can sell your home for...free of charge.


No comments:

Post a Comment