If your home has been on the market since the cold, inactive months of winter real estate, now is the time to step it up. Warm spring weather tends to reactive the real estate market and adds numerous new home sellers to the market, causing your home to fall to the bottom of the pile. Home buyers are also most active in the coming months, and they are interested in the new rather than the old. What can you do to reestablish interest in your home? Here are five starting tips:

• Add a significant upgrade or minor upgrades to your home. A major upgrade could include adding an Energy Star refrigerator, repainting your entire exterior or interior, upgrading your countertops to granite or replacing old carpeting with hardwood flooring. Minor upgrades could include adding a new front door, repainting the deck or adding a keypad entry to the garage. Then, have your advertisement updated with these new improvements.
• Redecorate. It’s the perfect way to spend your spare time while waiting for interested home buyers. That way, when you do host an open house or show the house to potential buyers, you can rave about the contemporary colors of paint you added. Or, you can remain silent and just allow the buyers to breathe in the scent of the spring flowers on the table.
• Include an item with your home sale to perk more interest. While keeping the price the same, update your advertisements to say that you will leave your rider lawn mower, your chic chandelier, your designer curtains or your vintage rug. If you’re really desperate to sell, you could even offer the home fully furnished.
• Keep the outside of your house looking immaculate. Try mowing your lawn diagonally for visual appeal and to make the yard appear larger. Trim the edges of the lawn along the driveway and walkway. Trim all the trees and bushes, rake the yard and pull weeds from the gardens. If the outside of the house looks appealing, potential home buyers will want to see the inside.

These tips will get you well on your way to gaining potential home buyer interest!