Depending on where you’re located, winter might seem like the worst time to put your home up for sale. The air is cold, the ground is covered with snow and daylight hours are shorter. But selling your home during the winter doesn’t have to be an impossible task. In fact, you can use it as an opportunity to set your home apart from all the others. Keep in mind, lots of people take their homes off the market through the winter and holidays so there is less competition if you do choose to market yours. If you do decide to offer your home through this season, here are a few ideas to help you achieve success!

Create a Safe Environment Free from the Weather

Make sure that walkways and driveways are salted and snow is shoveled. Nothing makes for a worse first impression for potential buyers than if they slip on the ice and injure themselves. They’ll be sure to remember your home, but probably not in the way you want them to. Also keep these areas well lit!

Minimize Your Holiday Decor

For most people, winter is a time for holiday decorations. But while your home should look festive, you will want to keep your decor attractive without becoming overwhelming. A few well-placed lights will accentuate your home’s natural curb appeal, but maybe you should save the giant blowup doll for next year.

Cleanliness is Crucial

Winter is a difficult time to really show off the exterior of your home, so you should instead concentrate on accentuating the interior. Winter visitors are more likely to notice dirt and clutter because they are not distracted by the exterior of the home, so make sure it is absolutely spotless inside. Kids and adults coming in and out during this time can create messy floors and closets so try to keep a strong focus on those items.

Illuminate

To counter the dreary winter weather,  make your home as bright and airy as possible. Open curtains and blinds to let in natural light, and keep the lights on throughout your entire home (including closets and basement) when showing it to potential buyers. This creates an inviting atmosphere while also highlighting the great features of your home.

Cozy & Comfy

Raising the thermostat a couple notches will set a warm, welcoming atmosphere and provide a great first impression. Serve hot chocolate, hot cider or tea and coffee with holiday cookies if it’s close to Christmas.  A fire burning in the fireplace says, “Ahhh”. You can even play some soft background music to set the mood.

Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words

Displaying either individually or in an album, spring, summer and autumn photos will allow prospective buyers to see the home’s full potential and to visualize themselves living in the home beyond this season. Create a takeaway brochure of photos from all 4 seasons so the buyer will remember your home and all it offers once they have left and are considering all the homes they’ve seen.