When fall sets in and the days grow colder many home owners that have their homes on the market decide to remove their listing until the spring. While others that were thinking of listing decide to wait until the spring to list their homes. A wise choice? Or are they missing out on a prime opportunity to have their property sell?
Less Competition
There is less competition at this time of year, in fact inventory levels can be about one-third of what is typically on the market. Many other home owners have removed their properties from the market at this time of the year while others also wait until spring. Less inventory on the market means you’re competing against less homes. Drive around or check online yourself to see what listings are still up in your neighbourhood. Or ask a realtor about listings data in your neighbourhood. They have access to market data and can give you accurate data about your area to make your decision easier.
Motivated Buyers
Buyers that are looking at this time of year are usually very motivated buyers. Perhaps they need to be in their new home by January. Many buyers have time off during the holidays so they focus on finding a home, particularly first time home owners.
Strengthen your position
Another reason to sell now is that it strengthens your position when you negotiate your next home purchase. Offers that are not conditional on selling your own home are much stronger, and can really tighten up closing dates getting you settled into your new home quicker.
Show your home at its best
As with any other time of the year, make sure your home is looking its best by de-cluttering, de-personalizing your home, removing excess storage items, and excess furniture. Consider having it staged to show its best. Keep driveways and walkways cleared and salted for potential buyers. Also clear off decks and walk ways in the back – you want to make sure that buyers see these additional features of your home.
You can take advantage of Holiday Décor
Christmas decorations can add real ambience to your home and emotions play a big part in a home buyer’s decision making process. The key thing is to not go overboard, you want to add just the right amount of decor. Just like the interior, I tell my clients less-is-more.
For the exterior no snow globes and giant blow up Santas in your yard! Use soft white Christmas lights to frame and show off architectural details of your home. Note that white lights are the best choice when selling your home, they are a much more sophisticated choice. Use white flood lights used strategically to emphasize your shrubbery and the front façade of your home. Incorporate tasteful holiday wreaths and winter arrangements. All of these things will go a long way to add to your curb appeal.
For the interior, again less-is-more, and subtleness is key. Use holiday décor that complements the colour palette in your home and overall enhances your space, rather than distracting from it. Play up a fireplace mantle for example. If your home has blue tones adding red and green décor is not the way to go. Using white and silver décor would complement the space much better. If you have earthy tones throughout your home using rich reds, greens and gold will work well. Remember less-is-more, if you’re adding décor make sure you’re taking away some of your regular décor. Accentuate a bay window for example, but don’t go overboard and add décor everywhere – it becomes cluttered and distracting for a viewer. If possible use a tree that isn’t too big as you don’t want it taking over the space and making the room look small. Once the holidays are over make sure you remove the decorations right away!
Think about hiring a home stager to assist in making your home look it’s best for those motivated buyers that are still out there looking.
Talk to a realtor before de-listing your home because this might be the prime time to sell in your particular market area, or if you were thinking of waiting until spring reach out to a realtor to get their advice on listing now.
