How to Sell a House in Autumn and Winter
Although spring and summer are the best time to put your house on the market, there are situations in life when you have to do it in autumn or winter. You need to account for less buyer interest than in summer, but selling a house in winter is not impossible, especially if you have managed to generate enough interest in your home.
Choose your photos very carefully
Ragged trees and brown grass in exterior views don't attract anyone, so ask your photographer to take this into account and try to capture the house in a way that the surroundings don't look too sad. The best time to do this is on a sunny day and it would be even better if there was snow on the ground, but well, you can't expect too much with bad ski weather in Estonia.
You have no way around using autumn and winter photos, because otherwise the people viewing the ads will think your house has been for sale for a very long time. However, you can add a few photos from last summer and spring to your photo gallery to give potential homebuyers an idea of what your garden looks like when the apple trees are in bloom.
Killer sales text
Good sales text is now even more important than before, because you need to be able to generate interest among a smaller number of home hunters – there simply aren't as many potential buyers in autumn and winter as there are in spring and summer. But if you have nice photos and good text in your listing, then you'll likely find interested parties who will come to view your home.
Still take care of your garden
In autumn and winter, when the garden becomes increasingly brown and the surroundings are quite grey, it's very tempting to hide inside from all of it. But if you have a serious desire to sell your house, then continue to take care of your garden. Rake up the last leaves or, if snow has fallen, clear nice walking paths through the snow and make sure everything looks nice and tidy.
Put colorful lights on some of the garden trees.
Lights on!
When potential buyers have decided to come and view your house, turn on all the lights in your house before they arrive. The house should glow invitingly from a distance and even when walking around inside, it would be good if all rooms were nicely lit.
Also make sure that all your outdoor lights are in working order. And honestly, installing some extra lights wouldn't hurt either.
Heat the room warmly
The same applies to room temperature. If you don't use the house yourself or you have some rooms that are empty and are therefore usually cold, then heat the whole house up nicely before the interested buyers arrive. When cold, the house can leave quite the wrong impression and you can't really imagine a cozy home feeling that way.
Light a fire in the fireplace
If your house has a fireplace, then definitely light a fire in it before potential buyers arrive.
Don't overdo it with holiday decorations
People have different tastes and that's why we recommend that you don't overdo it with holiday decorations. When your house is on the market, less decoration is more, so to speak, but a nice Christmas tree and colorful outdoor lights will certainly help create a cozy atmosphere.
Be prepared for lower buyer interest
Winter is certainly not peak season for selling houses and because of this, people's interest will definitely be lower. Be patient and perhaps go through your sales text and photos once more with your real estate agent. Also check whether your desired price is still competitive.
It is possible to sell a house at any time of year. Check out these sales offers here>>.
Maybe some of them will already be gone by next week?
