It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like a Home Sale

For many buyers and sellers, the Holiday Season is generally a time for friends, family, and gathering together with one another, and often times buying or selling a home is not high on your priority list. However, savvy buyers know that they can find deals during the Holiday real estate "offseason", and our real estate agents know how to sell a home during the holidays. 

There are great ways to sell homes during the holidays, but it requires a certain bit of preparation, some smart marketing, and some consideration about pricing. Let's take a look at how you can sell a home during the holidays.

Prep for Winter, Show for Spring

The winter months in much of the United States bring cold temperatures, dormant foliage, and generally yucky conditions for home shopping, but there are some ways you can make your home much more appealing to prospective buyers.

First, spruce up your home's landscaping with seasonal plants and landscaping that tastefully and fittingly enhances your home's curb appeal. Secondly, when marketing a home during the winter and holidays, it's important to showcase springtime photos of it. By using springtime photos, you can create a picture in the minds of your prospective buyers for what the home will be in the spring months.

Additionally, work with your REALTOR® to make sure your home is priced right for the current market. Pricing your home appropriately will pay dividends down the road.

Emphasize Maintenance

Maintenance of your home's physical details as well as mechanical aspects doesn't sound sexy, but neither is a busted water pipe in the depths of winter ruining walls and floors and putting your home off the market during a costly repair period.

That said, make maintenance a major focus on your home during the cold holiday months. Make sure pipes are wrapped, HVAC systems including furnaces or boilers are in tip-top shape, and seal up any exterior cracks or places where wind, water, rain, or enterprising critters could enter.  Not only will this save you from spendy repairs but it will instill confidence in homebuyers.

The Show That Knows

With the holidays come fewer buyers which can be both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing in that you can put your best foot forward and show the house on a personal level in a generally more intimate setting.  Additionally, homebuyers during these months will tend to be far more interested in buying your home than those simply shopping during the busy summer months.

On the other hand, selling during the holidays can mean fewer showings with fewer buyers which can put some stress on you as a seller. For this very reason, it's important that your home is staged, clean, and in 100% working order for any showings. A perfect presentation to only a handful of serious buyers may be all you need to sell a home in an otherwise stale part of the real estate year.

This holiday season, get your home on the market with other South Bend homes for sale in the Cressy Everett family. Contact us today to speak to one of our agents and get your home on the market today!