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Home Staging Tips for Winter

Winter can be a challenging time to sell your house. Some prospective buyers might be away for the holidays and the cold weather definitely makes house hunting less appealing. However, the fact that there will be less houses and properties on the market might mean more chance for yours to be more noticed. In order for you to increase your chances of selling your home, you must also up the cozy-factor of your property.

 

Here are some tips on how to do just that:

 

Get rid of any exterior obstruction.

Since it’s the winter, there might be shrubs and bent tree-branches that might be obstructing walkways or entrances – make sure you tend to those. Also, brush the snow off or if necessary, prune. It’s important that the walkway is shovelled before every showing. You wouldn’t want to have any incidents, and of course, you want to accommodate each guest without any hassle of any kind.

 

Warm up your guests.

This can be done in two ways. The first one is buying lighting up a fire with your fireplace or woodstove. However, if your fireplace is a bit older and leaves a smoky smell in the room, don’t light it up. You might have guests with allergies or sensitivities to smoke; you don’t want to turn them off. The alternate option is to offer warm apple cider instead.

 

Keep in mind those first impressions last.

When selling your house, know that for each guest, you only have 10 to 15 minutes to make a lasting impression. If the property you’re selling is unoccupied, make sure that the heat has been turned off several hours prior the start of the showing. You don’t want your guests to remember your freezing property.

 

If a garden is present, use structural elements for winter interest.

It can be difficult for your guests to visualize a blooming garden during this season, so use rock walls, large urns and planters, as well as benches that can make buyers see the potential even in the snow.

 

Protect the floors.

During showings, it’s important to still protect your house or property. In order to protect your floor, put rubber mats by the door for snowy boots. You might provide comfy one-size-fits-all slippers from a discount store for your visitors to wear inside while viewing your home.

 

Light up candles.

This comes in handy in adding more warmth to the room and if you light fragrant candles, it also adds in to that cozy feel. Another effective way to make your guests feel the homey vibe is to leave on a pot of cider simmering on the stove, or fresh bread baking, even cookies!


 

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