Your home is one of the most valuable assets you will ever own – if not the most valuable. And spring is the best time of year to put your home on the market and get the greatest possible return on your investment.
But selling your home at its maximum value takes more than just putting a for-sale sign in the front yard. There’s a huge opportunity when selling in spring, but you have to take the right steps to seize that opportunity.
To help you get started, here’s a look at seven tips for successfully selling your home in spring:
1. Turn Heads With Your Yard
You want prospective buyers to fall in love with your home the minute they pull into the driveway or up to the curb. And a bright, beautifully manicured yard is one fast way into your prospects’ hearts.
Start with the lawn itself. Make sure you’ve fertilized so your grass responds to springtime rain by growing back nice and thick. Try mowing in a diagonal grid to make your yard seem larger and to show your prospects that you pay attention to detail. Rake up leaves, clippings and other debris, and make sure your bushes and hedges are trimmed.
Springtime is also the perfect time for a splash of color, which you can add to your yard through daffodils and tulips. These colorful flowers thrive in spring, and they can help make the first impression you want. And you need not spend time planting them: Simply buy colorful flowers in containers and set them out in bunches near your entryway.
2. Spend Time Spring Cleaning
Your home should look immaculate when your prospects first walk in the door. So, before your home goes on the market, do a deep clean (or hire someone to do a deep clean) so you can simply maintain that level of cleanliness on a day-to-day basis afterward.
The floors should be polished to a shine, carpets and rugs should be shampooed, windows and mirrors should be washed to a sparkle, appliances should look brand new, and all counters and surfaces should be thoroughly wiped down.
Take this time to de-clutter your home, too. Leave surfaces as clear as possible, and thin out closets and cabinets. Your prospects will want to see how much storage your home offers – so give them the impression you have more storage than you know what to do with.
3. Make Your Prospects Feel at Home
Make sure your home looks inviting from the street. Leave lights burning for early evening showings, and trim back trees so your home doesn’t look hidden. Invest in a new welcome mat and be sure to leave any relevant collateral and a seller’s agent’s business card near the entryway.
For an added touch of hospitality, fill your sink with bottled water covered in ice. Your prospects might appreciate having a cold drink after an afternoon or evening of looking at different listings.
One last tip on making your prospects feel at home: De-personalize your home as much as possible. Take down family photos, remove your kids’ crafts from the refrigerator door, and move your university degrees from the wall into the closet. You want your prospects to envision themselves living in your house. If you fail to de-personalize, your prospects might get caught up thinking more about you living there.
4. Activate Your Visitors’ Senses
Don’t just think about what your prospects see when they walk in the door. Think also about what they will hear, smell and even touch. Feel free to leave some ambient music playing softly in the background during showings. Light a candle or leave fresh flowers in the entryway to ensure your home smells crisp and clean. And, for open houses, you can even consider baking fresh cookies for visitors to enjoy.
Pleasing sounds and scents have a huge impact on mood, and you want your prospects to be in the best mood possible as they tour your home and consider whether or not they want to live in it.
5. Let Longer Days Fill Your Home With Light
You’ve already cleaned your windows to a sparkle. Now it’s time to unleash natural light by opening up your drapes, blinds and other window coverings. And there’s plenty of natural light to go around when Daylight Saving hits and extends the evening.
Letting natural light into your house is a great way to make it look larger and brighter. Also, sunlight pouring in through windows will make your freshly polished floors shine, which has a powerful effect.
No one wants to live in a cave. So make sure your prospects know just how bright and spacious your home can be by tapping into the power of natural light.
6. Add a Splash of Spring Color Indoors
You’ve already added a pop of color to your entryway by placing containers of tulips and daffodils. Now it’s time to do the same for your home’s interior.
You can use the flower trick, placing a vase in the entryway and perhaps another in the kitchen. Not only do flowers provide a pop of color, they also help activate the senses and create the right moods, as previously mentioned.
But do more than just flowers. Try adding a few pastel throw pillows to your sofas and beds. Also, consider swapping out your dark winter clothing for bright sweaters and tops hanging in your closets. Because, yes, your prospects are going to peek in your closets.
7. Create a Competitive Advantage
Springtime is the best time to sell your home. Your yard looks great, the flowers are blooming, and there’s tons of demand among homebuyers.
But selling a home in spring isn’t easy. Just as there’s tons of demand, the market is also flooded with tons of supply. For that reason, you need to create a competitive advantage. How will your property stand out from the crowd?
Start by following the tips above. But, also, you’ll want to secure an experienced and knowledgeable agent who can help you secure professional photos, who can assist in strategically pricing your home, and who can help by implementing a comprehensive marketing plan that brings as many prospective buyers as possible through your front door.
The last thing you want to do is assume that selling in spring is easy. It can be if you take the right steps. But it doesn’t happen by accident.
If you want to learn more about selling your home in springtime, I’m always here to help. Feel free to email me at pthessen1@gmail.com.
-submitted by Perry Thessen
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