Monday, March 1, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Selling in the winter
The cooler months can sometimes be hard months to sell a home in. The weather plays a big factor. If it's cold and rainy, there won't be many people out looking to buy. Luckily we've only got a few months of it here in Texas.
So what do you need to do if you're selling November through March? I'll start with the biggest, and it's always the biggest, Price. You have to list a home at a competetive price to drive buyers to it. Without that competetive price buyers won't see it and you'll have to drop the price down the road losing you're initial "Just on the Market" enthusiasm. Some times your competetive price can drive enough buyers that they'll not only give you full price, but may offer higher.
The second thing is clutter. Many times in winter stuff just piles up or gets brought inside. It's best to get these out of the house and into the garage or attic. When trying to decide if something should stay or go, be on the safe side and take it out.
Yards can also be a problem in the winter. Ususally the grass has turned brown and some shrubs have lost their leaves. You obviously can't do anything about this. You can keep the leaves off the lawn to make it look as neat as possible though. You can also use mulch to freshen up the beds and put in some cold resistent flowers.
If you know of items that need to be fixed and that a potential buyer would object to, it's a good idea to take care of these items before putting the home on the market. You don't want a potential buyer to not present an offer because of a problem that you'll have to fix anyway.
Hopefully this will help you get your home sold quickly during these months.
So what do you need to do if you're selling November through March? I'll start with the biggest, and it's always the biggest, Price. You have to list a home at a competetive price to drive buyers to it. Without that competetive price buyers won't see it and you'll have to drop the price down the road losing you're initial "Just on the Market" enthusiasm. Some times your competetive price can drive enough buyers that they'll not only give you full price, but may offer higher.
The second thing is clutter. Many times in winter stuff just piles up or gets brought inside. It's best to get these out of the house and into the garage or attic. When trying to decide if something should stay or go, be on the safe side and take it out.
Yards can also be a problem in the winter. Ususally the grass has turned brown and some shrubs have lost their leaves. You obviously can't do anything about this. You can keep the leaves off the lawn to make it look as neat as possible though. You can also use mulch to freshen up the beds and put in some cold resistent flowers.
If you know of items that need to be fixed and that a potential buyer would object to, it's a good idea to take care of these items before putting the home on the market. You don't want a potential buyer to not present an offer because of a problem that you'll have to fix anyway.
Hopefully this will help you get your home sold quickly during these months.
December Market Stats
Click on the image for a larger version. Most areas improved in median price which is great news.
Monday, January 4, 2010
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