Top tips for selling your house in winter

The pandemic saw an unprecedented boom in the property market, helped by the government extending the help-to-buy scheme and cutting stamp duty on houses under £500,000.

And, despite the end of the stamp duty holiday, demand for houses shows no signs of slowing down, with house prices registering the highest monthly rise for 14 years in September this year, and agents reporting even hard-to-sell houses are being snapped up.

So, if you want to sell your home, you might be wondering whether to take advantage of this momentum and put it on the market now?

Is winter a good time to sell your house?

Traditionally, the colder, darker months aren’t seen as prime house-buying season. It’s when we’re distracted by the excitement of Christmas and feelings of wanting to stay in and hunker down. That being said, people do buy and sell homes in winter. The main advantage being that you have less competition and you’re more likely to attract serious buyers, rather than timewasters on a day out.

However, selling your house in winter does come with challenges. Here we look at what they are and how you can overcome them. We like to think we know a thing or two about selling houses, so we’ve come up with some tips for selling your house in winter to help you realise its full sale value.

Create a grand entrance 

Hallways can take a beating in the winter, with wet shoes traipsing in and lots of bulky coats and boots to store — not to mention hats, gloves and scarves. Invest in a coat rack or storage system to tastefully display or hide all your stuff away.

Place some large jute mats by your external doors, so viewers can wipe their feet on entry and not spoil the visuals (and your carpets) with muddy footprints.

Warm up the look of your entrance hall with some big plants. Rubbers or ferns are inexpensive and make an instant impact.

 

Make your home look and feel cosy 

You want a potential buyer’s first impression of your home to be that it’s warm and snug, not cold and dark. So, make sure you crank up the cosy factor!

Have the central heating on at a comfortable temperature to take the chill off the house (remember they’ll probably be wearing their coats). If you have an open fire and you’re going to be in during viewings, a roaring fire is hard to beat.

Invest in a few sumptuous cushions and snuggly throws for the sofas, and maybe a shaggy rug for any hard floors. Subtly scented seasonal candles can help up the ambiance and create a warm glow.

 

Make the most of light

Natural light is obviously in short supply this time of year. This makes things tricky, particularly when you consider that outside of the weekends, after work is when most people do house viewings.

Before you put your home on the market, assess your lighting. If you have any dark spots, buy a few corner lamps or bigger shades to make sure every corner of your home is lit. Before viewings, wash any glass lamp shades to make sure they’re sparkling clean and give fabric ones a wipe.

Open curtains and blinds fully, even if it’s dark. Curtains tend to make a room appear smaller, and you don’t want to put this thought into a buyer’s mind. 

If you’re going to be out during a viewing, leave your lights so the agent doesn’t have to go around turning them on when they arrive with viewers. Timers or smart controls would also come in handy here.

 

Keep your garden tidy

Winter means muddy gardens and lots of leaves on the ground. Try and keep on top of your garden as much as possible. Cut the grass, clear the leaves and repaint the shed or fences if needed to stop your garden from looking bleak.

Keep your garden furniture out so buyers can still see the potential of the garden as a living space.

If you don’t have outdoor lighting, consider getting some installed on your external walls to make your garden look inviting, and more simply, so visitors can see your garden in the dark! You can string festoon lights from sheds or pagodas and place lanterns among plants and foliage. If you have a fire pit or chiminea consider lighting it to add to the effect.

 

We hope you’ve found our tips for selling your house in winter useful. Don’t forget, when it’s time to put your home on the market, we have over 20 years of experience selling houses, and we’ve got lots more great advice. 

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch - we’d be more than happy to help you sell your house this winter.

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