Earlier this month I explained three advantages of selling your home during the holiday season. With fewer homes being marketed during this “off-season” you can get the attention of serious buyers during the holidays. Here are 10 additional tips to implement to successfully sell your home this winter.
Deck the Halls
Decorating for the holidays is always a rewarding and exciting activity. While it can show how great the property can look for the holidays, try not to go overboard. As too much décor can be distracting as well as potentially turning off buyers if the decorations are religious themed.
Hire a Reliable Real Estate Agent
In Waltham, MA seeking out a reliable Realtor is extremely important. During the holiday season especially, you will want an agent who will not disappear. Find an agent, either by your own search or through recommendations, that will work hard to get your home sold to serious buyers. This will take the most stress out of the selling process during the holidays.
Seek Out Motivated Buyers
As mentioned in earlier blogs, buyers looking at the market during this time are very serious to close on a home. This is where you and your agent can strategize to seek out buyers with a deadline, such as people relocating jobs, investors on tax deadlines, college students, etc.
Price to Sell
No matter the season, a home that is priced low on the market will make buyers interested. Instead of gradually making reductions to the price, many Realtors suggest that sellers slash their prices before putting their home on the market. This way, during the holiday season, you will be one of the few on the market and listed at a price that will attract buyers.
Curb Appeal
Just like with any season for real estate, adding curb appeal before showings makes a huge impact on the success of your home being bought. Especially during the winter as plants and trees start to lose their leaves. Touch up the paint of your home, clean the gutters and make the yard look welcoming. Make sure all walkways and stairs are free from any debris, snow or ice.
Quality Real Estate Photos
First impressions are everything, and during the colder months, buyers will be looking at online listings first. This is where you can make your mark by highlighting your home with high-quality photos of your home. Make sure to include photos of all the season of the year so buyers can see how the home looks in the spring as well as the winter.
Video Tour or Interactive Photo Floor plan
Selling your home during the holidays runs the risk of having very little foot traffic for showings. To solve this problem, and to sell your home quickly, create a video tour or photo floor plan of your home that you can post on the internet and on listing sites. That way buyers can have their own showing without dealing with the colder climate.
Give Potential Buyers a Place to Escape the Cold
For showings, crank up the heat and make your home feel cozy and inviting for buyers to come in to take a tour. Play soft comforting music and offer holiday treats to make house hunters feel right at home. The longer they stay in your home, the longer they must admire and visualize their families in the home.
Financial Holiday Cheer
The holiday season is meant for giving right? If you know you have serious buyers on the table, why not offer a home loan? You can get a good rate of return on your money!
Relax
Holidays are stressful enough with all the shopping, planning, and decorating. Take a moment to remind yourself that if you don’t find the right buyer during the holidays there is always next year. The new year is right around the corner and you will have generated more interest as more buyers start to look on the market after the start of the new year.