The holiday season from November through January is often considered the worst time to put a home on the market however the season does have its advantages: holiday buyers tend to be more serious and competition is less fierce with fewer homes being actively marketed. Make selling your home during the holidays a little bit easier by following these great tips:
- Deck the halls, but don’t go overboard. Homes often look their best during the holidays, but sellers should be careful not to overdo it on the decor. Adornments that are too many can crowd your home and distract buyers. Also, avoid offending buyers and opt for general winter decorations rather than items with religious themes.
- Hire a reliable real estate agent. That means someone who will work hard for you and won’t disappear during Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s. This will ease your stress and give you more time to enjoy the season.
- Seek out motivated buyers. Anyone house hunting during the holidays must have a good reason for doing so. Work with your agent to target buyers, including people relocating for jobs in your area, investors on tax deadlines and college students and staff.
- Price it to sell. No matter what time of year, a home that’s priced low for the market will make buyers feel merry. Rather than gradually making small price reductions, many real estate agents advise sellers to slash their prices beforeputting a home on the market.
- Make curb appeal a top priority. When autumn rolls around and the trees start to lose their leaves, maintaining the exterior of your home becomes even more important. Touch up the exterior paint, clean the gutters and spruce up the yard.
- Take top-notch real estate photos. When the weather outside is frightful, homebuyers are likely to start their house hunt from the comfort of their homes by browsing listings on the Internet. Make a good first impression by offering lots of flattering, high-quality photos of your home.
- Create a video tour for the Web. You’ll get less foot traffic during the holidays thanks to inclement weather and vacation plans. But shooting a video tour and posting it on the Web may attract house hunters who would rather not drive in a snowstorm.
- Give house hunters a place to escape from the cold. Make your home feel cozy and inviting during showings by cranking up the heat, playing soft classical music and offering homemade holiday treats. When you encourage buyers to spend more time in your home, you also give them more time to admire its best features.
- Offer holiday cheer in the form of financing. Bah, humbug! Lenders are scrooges these days, but if you’ve got the means, then why not offer a referral for a local reputable mortgage broker or bank loan officer.
- Relax! The holidays are stressful enough with gifts to buy, dinners to prepare and relatives to entertain. Remember that if you don’t sell now, there’s always next year, which is only a few days away!!