How to Make Your Home More Appealing in the Winter

How to Make Your Home More Appealing in the Winter

It’s cold. It’s dreary. Half the time the sun isn’t shining. People who aren’t particularly motivated to move for a real reason aren’t as excited about going out to house hunt during the cold winter months. We’ve actually known people to take their houses off the market for a few months simply because they’re frustrated at the lack of prospects. This isn’t necessary, though. All you need to do is take a few steps to make your home look just as appealing during the winter as it looks on warmer, sunnier days.

Basic Home Maintenance

There’s nothing like the bareness of trees and the emptiness of the gardens to point to glaring deficiencies in your home’s paintwork or general landscapes. Selling a home in the winter months means taking extra care when it comes to making outside repairs, cleaning the yard, and doing basic touch-up work.

Stage the Home to Make it Feel Warm

Occupied or not, the home needs to feel warm and cozy. Your visitors need to be able to walk in and immediately feel as though this place could be home. Turn the thermostat up a few degrees. Light a fire if you have a fireplace. And, as usual, make sure the home is free of clutter. If you have any, leave out an album of photos of what your landscape looks like during the summer months. This will help your prospective buyers imagine what the home is like throughout the entire year.

Light Makes a Difference

It’s harder to get a feel for how much light a home could get during the winter months. Maximize your home’s potential by getting rid of some of the window treatments. The windows will look larger and each room will be brighter, even if the sun isn’t shining directly in.

Keep the Walkways Clear

There is absolutely nothing worse than showing a home where the potential buyer has to tread on ice or muddle through snow. Keep the walkways clear of snow and ice. Make sure they’re salted and safe for visitors. This eliminates safety issues, adds to curb appeal, and ensures your potential buyers won’t change their minds about coming in to see the house.

Highlight Cold Weather Perks

Make a cold-weather house hunter feel good about your house by showing off some of the things that make living in your home in the winter likeable. Does the house have an attached garage? Do you have a brand new HVAC system? Maybe you have skylights that make the home warmer and more inviting. Showcase anything that proves your home is livable during the winter months.

Selling a home during the winter season is not impossible. Even during the months of January and February, when numbers are typically low, there are still closings. Make sure yours is among them.