Selling in the Spring housing market tends to be a mix of the winter and summer markets: summer tends to be a lot busier, with more sellers and more buyers, and winter tends to be a little tough because weather rarely adds appeal to your home’s natural charms.
In Spring, you have the opportunity to take advantage of how much everyone is in a mood for a new start: when they see the home you’re selling after you’ve prepared it well, they will be ready to spring into action!
Do – Make Time for These Things!
Declutter as a Beginning Step to Packing
You’ll most likely be moving pretty soon after you sell your home, so you’re probably also thinking about how you’ll get your own items out of your home. Prep for sale and declutter for moving at the same time, not two steps. Sure, you could just stuff a bunch of things blindly into closets, but honestly, buyers want to see those closets!
Better to get some boxes, label them well, and start evaluating items room-by-room with the age-old question, “Trash, donate, or keep?” Not only will you take some pressure off the moving time itself, you’ll have an orderly pile of boxes in the basement, attic, or closets so that buyers are free to peruse without triggering an avalanche.
Let Out Old Air and Usher in Spring with Deep Cleaning
Deep cleaning your home always adds some perceived value to a home, but in the spring, it’s particularly a good idea. We may not notice how musty and cooped-up a home has gotten during the winter, and getting rid of every bit of dust and dirt in each room while airing the place out on a clear day can really change the feel of the space.
Don’t – No Need to Do These Things!
Jump on Bandwagons and Remodel Just to Sell
I once sold a home that didn’t have a garage, and it was a little tough to look at homes selling near us and know that some part of their price was due to their garage, making it hard to gauge what we could expect. However! We weren’t going to contract to have an expensive garage added at a time when we’d barely get to use it ourselves, if at all.
While you might have heard of someone adding a back deck and seeing such a jump in offers that it paid for itself, it’s far from guaranteed, especially if the project ends up more expensive and extensive than expected. Recognize that the months before a sale are best for small fixes, updates, spruce-ups, and cleaning, not major cost.
Neglect Your Yard Just Because “Winter is Barely Over”
It’s true that selling in the middle or end of March and beginning of April can feel like your curb appeal is more “winter-like” than spring, but if your listing day dawns warm and clear, you’re going to wish you’d gotten that lawn into shape.
Anything you can do to make your yard look great, even early in the season, is going to be helpful for first impressions. Talk to a landscaper about what will help for a particular listing date – it’s worth the extra yard TLC.
Also read: Essential Tips for Spring Home Maintenance
