Real Estate Tips for Selling Your Home in the Fall

Typically, Spring is known as the “busy season” when it comes to the Real Estate market, but with so few homes on the market, we are all a bit curious how this Fall - and even Winter - will turn out. There are a few ways to make sure your home stands out so that you can sell your home as quickly as possible for the highest amount as possible. 

First, let’s look at the pros and cons of selling during the off-season months.

Advantages of Selling in the Fall

• Only the serious buyers will still be looking
• The cozy season makes your home feel more inviting to buyers
• If you start early in the fall, there is usually good enough lighting to still do early weeknight showings 

Challenges when Selling in the Fall 

• Fewer buyers in general 
• Weather can make people want to stay at home as opposed to looking at homes
• A little under 50% of buyers have children and are less likely to want to look while school is in session
• Between school, work and holiday events, Buyers have other priorities
  

When you decide that the challenges are not too much of a detriment, there are a few things to be aware of - after all, you want to move as quickly as possible to get your home sold before the holiday season comes. 

Hiring a professional agent can help you considerably. As your agent, I make sure that our photos are taken ASAP to take advantage of the nicer natural light. Also, now that Open Houses and doorknocking are back for REALTORS ®, REAL Gratitude partners with you - the client - to market creatively in a way that gets more eyes on your house and helps out the local community in the process. Most importantly, I can help you price your home to sell. Contact me for a free comparative market analysis to see what you could get for your home if you were to list today. 

As far as preparation to sell, I recommend being aware of and even playing up the season! Complete any indoor maintenance and cleaning like painting, removing dust and cobwebs as well as replacing your air filters so that if we crank the heat, we do not end up with a musty smell. The outside is just as important as the inside. The yard, gutters, walkways, and even the door mat should be cleaned of leaves and any other debris and planting fall flowers is always a nice touch!

As your agent, I can walk you through staging your home while considering that change of season. It’s super important to declutter as much as possible since buyers typically want to move quickly to get their sale done before the holidays.

With days getting shorter and shorter as the season continues, we want to make sure the lighting is as strong as possible. Clean windows, add lamps and brighten and touch up the paint of the interior. If there is a fireplace, turn it on and play into the season with accent pillows and seasonal touches but avoid too many holiday decorations. 

Overall, no matter what season there are certain things to be aware of when Selling your home and working with an agent can ensure that all of your T’s are crossed and your I’s are dotted. For a free home valuation or for our seller’s workbook, reach out to barkley@realgratitude.org.