Although you will often hear that
there’s a specific time of the year to sell a home, the truth is that the best
time to sell property ultimately depends on your local market’s conditions. So,
despite what people tell you about selling your home in the middle of winter,
closing a sale is far from impossible.
To increase your chances, be sure
to avoid some key mistakes when selling your home during this time of the
year.
1. Waiting to List
An offseason isn’t a dry spell,
and people planning to move will look at listings no matter the time of year.
Sure, it’s no peak season like spring, but you only need one buyer to close a
sale. Some real estate agents have also pointed out how February tends to be a
great time to sell a property.
Besides, selling during the winter
comes with its advantages. This includes having less competition with other
listings in your area, leveraging December’s buyers’ craze toward your sale,
and generally having more time on your hands to put your listing out there and
deal with the sale.
2. Not Expecting Interest on
Special Days
You might hold certain days
untouchable and devoted entirely to rest or spending time with your family, but
you can’t expect the same of prospective buyers. Home sellers from all over
have stories to share about dealing with buyers on Christmas Eve or
Thanksgiving.
Some people just don’t have time
to set aside for looking around at properties and listings, but that doesn’t mean
that you have to compromise your holidays for them. You could either be
gracious and prepared enough to entertain showings during these dates or stern
on your unavailability if the holidays are that significant to you.
3. Lacking Home Preparation
Preparing your property for visits
from buyers is a round-the-calendar struggle, and you have to be acutely aware
of the unique needs and demands that come with every season. Just as you
wouldn’t want prospective buyers to face a lawn untidily strewn with fallen
leaves in the fall, winter has its own unsightly and even hazardous downers.
For one, if your property is in a
state where it snows, shoveling a clear path to your front door and properly
salting the way are musts. Slipping is never a pleasant experience, and you can
bet that it will be taken against your property when it comes down to it.
You’ll also want your interiors comfortably warm and, of course, visually
appealing.
4. Pricing Too High
This is a fatal mistake that bears
repeating as it continues to be a problem and remains one of the biggest
arguments for getting a proper agent to sell your property for you. Chances are
your home is worth less than you expect it to, and selling it at too high a
price is going to seriously stunt your sale.
Every week, your chances of
selling your property at its original, full asking price drop. Likewise, every
week your listing is up is another week that its buyer activity dwindles. This
is something that you can deal with at the get-go, basing your asking price on
the sale prices of similar properties in your area as opposed to their asking
prices. Or, better yet, get a much more experienced licensed agent to deal with
setting a price on your home along with the other nitty-gritty, as opposed to
taking care of everything DIY.
If you need to sell your home right away, as-is, sell it to an investor like Blue Hen Homebuyers. We buy homes in almost any kind of shape. Call our offices today at 910-802-2222 to learn more about how we can help you.
Photo by John P Mulgrew from FreeImages