While spring and summer tend to be the busiest months in real estate, selling in the winter has its advantages. There is less competition, and typically the pool of buyers available are more motivated to close deals.
Regardless, as a seller, you can take advantage of the winter season by staging your home in a cozy and appealing way. Here are some of the best things you can do to make your home feel warm, welcoming, and memorable.
1. It Starts Outside – Curb Appeal
The exterior of your home will be the first thing buyers see, and you want to make sure the impression it leaves is a good one!
- Keep everything clear: You’ll want to clear all walkways and your driveway of snow, not just for appearances, but to ensure anyone entering the home for a showing can come and go safely.
- Warm things up with lighting: Taking advantage of warm exterior lighting will make your home feel more welcoming. It will also help with visibility in the evening.
- Add winter greenery: Planters with pine, birch, or cedar can add a little bit of life to a snowy front porch.
2. Welcome Buyers with a Bright & Warm Interior
The winter season brings shorter days, which makes lighting your home even more important.
- Keep rooms bright: Use overhead lighting, lamps, and accent lighting to keep rooms illuminated.
- Use natural lighting during the day: When your home is photographed it will likely be during the day, so use natural lighting to your advantage. Open up your blinds and curtains to let the light in.
- Turn up the heat: While it usually doesn’t make sense to crank your heat when no one is home, ensuring that the house is warm for when buyers walk through during a showing will help them feel more comfortable.
3. Keep Holiday Decor Subtle
One of the ultimate rules for selling your home during any season is to reduce clutter and de-personalize, and this is especially true during the holiday season.
- Avoid too many decorations: A Christmas tree in the living room isn’t going to clutter the house too much, but piling on oversized decorations or extra Christmas decor around the house will make the rooms look smaller and more cluttered.
*Tip: Avoid big items like inflatable yard decorations or too many Christmas trees!
- Go subtle: If you do want to decorate a little for the holidays, try to do it through more subtle items like pine cones in a bowl on the table, candles, soft twinkle lights, etc.
- Choose colours accordingly: If you want to throw in some holiday colours, make sure they compliment the colours of the house and use them sparingly (especially if they’re bright and bold!).
4. Make Every Room Cozy
It may be cold outside, but it shouldn’t be inside! Cozy rooms can help buyers picture themselves living in the home during the winter season.
- Use the fireplace: If your home has a fireplace, turn it on for photos and showings if possible. The fireplace will add warmth both literally and figuratively.
- Decorate warmly: Add throw blankets, area rugs, and pillows to create a sense of comfort.
- Use seasonal scents: Scents like pine, vanilla, or cinnamon can give a subconscious feeling of warmth to a home. Just be sure you don’t overdo it!
5. Keep Everything Clean
Winter doesn’t just bring snow, but also salt, slush, and dirt.
- Wipe floors down: Make sure to keep the floors of your home clean for when buyers come through for showings.
- Keep entrance mats fresh: Ensure the entrance of your home has a mat for buyers to wipe their shoes on, and keep it clean and fresh during showing periods.
- Don’t drag in dirt: You can ask your agent to specify that shoes should be removed during showings, or you can offer shoe coverings for anyone entering the home.
6. Highlight Winter-Friendly Features
If your home happens to have any features that are especially comfortable during the winter season, make sure they shine during showings and in your home’s marketing materials. Some of these features could include:
- New or recently upgraded HVAC system
- Heated floors
- Fireplaces
- High-efficiency windows
- Insulated garage and/or attic
- Smart thermostat systems
