Winter Home Selling
We’ve discussed this before, winter home selling is not a bad thing!
There are definite advantages to putting your home on the market this time of year. Not least of which is the decreased competition and the seriousness of buyers.
Motivation
Consider the motivation of most buyers in the market right now. As is nearly universal, no one wants to be looking at homes when the weather is cold and the snow is flying and piling up. Buyers with a pre-approval in hand that are pounding the pavement looking for a home are likely needing to find a place. Many companies, that relocate employees, want them to their new jobs by the beginning of the calendar year. Therefore, many of the buyers looking at homes right now will be employees relocating to your town.
Next, consider the motivation of the real estate agents still working hard. Like everyone else, we are staring at the holidays and wondering when we get to spend time with our friends and families. If an agent is scheduling a showing on your home, you can be assured that they are not going to be messing around. The agent will likely be very confident in the buyer’s ability to perform and that your home is a pretty solid match, on paper, for the needs of the buyer.
Finally, seller motivation needs to be discussed. If you’re selling your home in the winter, you either need to sell for a job relocation, or you want to take advantage of a simple equation: little competition + motivated buyers = elevated sales price. And making your home stand out against what competition exists in the marketplace is easy, because it’s the holidays! I have no doubt that your home sparkles and shines in the glow of the Thanksgiving feast and holiday festivities.
Last year, this home came on the market at the beginning of January. The only hiccup we had in selling this home, one day after the open house, was that the original date of the open house was the day after we got about 9 inches of snow dumped on us. As you flip through the images, virtual tour, and walkthrough video, you will see the wonderful condition of this home, along with the Christmas decorations.