How to Sell a Home During the Off-Season
No matter the state of the economy, seasonality plays a hugely important role in real estate. If you are looking to sell your home, you should be paying close attention to the calendar. Research has shown that May, June, and July is usually the best time to sell a house. This is because the weather is nicer, and people are generally more ready and willing to make a major life change during this time of the year.
The depths of winter are by far the worst time for real estate sales, as people hunker down for the winter and generally avoid making such major financial decisions. If you need to sell your home during the off-season, there is no need to panic. Simply read our tried and tested tips for off-season sales.
1. Work the Weather
One of the best house selling tips we can offer is to work the weather to your advantage. If you want to improve your chances of selling, use the seasons to your advantage. If you are selling during the holidays, keep those Christmas decorations up and market your home as a festive retreat. An autumn sale should focus on coziness and nature, while a winter sale should focus on daylight and snow in equal measure.
2. Keep It Turnkey
If you are approaching off-season sales, you cannot afford to get lazy. It is all the more important to keep your home in perfect, turnkey condition if you want to sell it quickly. While buyers might be prepared to go for a fixer-upper in the summer, nobody wants to be dealing with renovations during the winter months. If your home is ready to move into, someone will buy it.
3. Sell a Home During the Dip
With property sales, it is always important to look at the silver lining. In this case, you should be using the off-season to your advantage. During this time of year, people tend to pull their houses off the market. This leads to tighter inventory and fewer homes for sale, which could be an opportunity for you, as long as you target the right buyers. By finding buyers that are ready to move now, you can make the off-season more efficient.
4. Highlight Year-Round Amenities
The problem with selling during the off-season is that people find it more difficult to visualize themselves enjoying the house or the surrounding community in the winter or early spring. That’s why you should aim to highlight year-round amenities that homeowners can enjoy. Are there year-round hiking trails in your area? Indoor swimming pools? Busy cultural venues? Focus on the things that potential buyers could enjoy from the minute they move in, even if they move in during the depths of January.
Year-Round Lifestyle Guidance
Now that you know how to sell a home during the off-season, it’s time to focus on living. In our dedicated Lifestyle section, you can find expert lifestyle guidance that you can enjoy all year round. Check it out today.
Samantha Gaines wrote this article on behalf of FreeUp. FreeUp is the fastest-growing freelance marketplace in the US. FreeUp only accepts the top 1% of freelance applicants. Click here to get access to the top freelancers in the world.
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