Three Surefire Tips for Selling Your Home This Spring
March 21, 2023 | Moving
Spring marks the beginning of the moving season for home buying in the United States. One major factor in selling your home during spring is the weather. In many parts of the country, winter weather can be cold, snowy, and unpleasant, making it difficult to view homes and less appealing to move.
In contrast, spring weather is often mild and pleasant, making it easier for potential buyers to view homes and for sellers to showcase their properties. Preparing your house to sell in the spring can be overwhelming, but with the right steps, you can make the process smoother. Here are some tips to help you get started on the path toward selling your home this spring.
Should I Sell My Home this Spring?
If you’re considering putting your house on the market this spring, there are certain things you can do to show your home in the best light possible. Even so, we understand that selling your home is a deeply personal decision. If you’re still on the fence, here are some of the reasons homeowners and realtors across the country consider Springtime an excellent time to sell a home:
- Weather: The warmer weather and longer days in the spring make it easier for people to move around and view homes. This makes it a popular time for people to start their home search.
- School schedules: Many families prefer to move during the summer when school is out, and spring is a good time to start the home search process so that they can move and get their children used to new routines before the next school year.
- Spring cleaning: As people begin their spring cleaning routines, they may decide it’s time for a change and decide to downsize their home to make life simpler and buying more affordable.
Overall, spring is a popular time to sell a home due to increased buyer demand and seller inventory, making it an excellent time to list a home for sale. Now that you’re ready to get your home on the market, here are three tips for giving it a competitive edge.
Enhance Your Home’s Curb Appeal
The exterior of your home is the first thing potential buyers will see. As a result, prospective buyers will form an opinion of your house within moments of pulling up the driveway. So how the exterior of your home looks and how well it photographs is crucial. Make sure your lawn is mowed, hedges are trimmed, and any outdoor features (like decks or patios) are clean and well-maintained. Adding colorful flowers or potted plants can also make your home more inviting.
Additionally, many homebuyers will see your home for the first time on their Smartphone or computer. Whether online or in person, “That first impression sets the tone for the whole experience,” says Roger Piro, president of the Sarasota Association of Realtors and an agent with Town and Country Real Estate.
Take a critical look at your home’s exterior from across the street or the next time you drive home from the grocery store. Is it a home you would buy today if you were looking? If you need to make exterior upgrades, invest in projects that will be universally appealing to homebuyers. For example, replacing worn gutters, adding color with flower beds, and placing plants on the front corners of the yard or along driveways and walkways can all provide a great first impression.
Also, updating or painting your front door will create a visually appealing entryway. If there is space, you can add a pop of color with flower pots on the front porch. Curb appeal will give your property a visually appealing edge in photos and for in-person showings.
Staging Makes a Difference
Staging your home will prevent potential buyers from getting distracted by things other people own instead of the features of a home. Decluttering personal belongings is often the most challenging concept for home sellers to embrace. For example, decluttering personal items such as family photos, knickknacks, and excessive furniture will make your home appear more spacious and allow potential buyers to envision themselves living in the space.
Home sellers can rely on secure, affordable storage to store their personal belongings, such as extra furniture, favorite artwork, and beloved family photographs during the staging process. Staging your home can also include rearranging furniture to highlight your home’s best features, adding fresh linens or towels, and using simple decor to make your home look inviting.
Remember to deep clean to make your home almost new and eliminate any odors. You can hire a professional service to scrub floors and walls, dust all surfaces, and clean your windows. A clean and fresh-smelling home will make a great impression on buyers.
This is a good time to identify any minor repairs inside your home, such as leaky bathroom faucets, broken door knobs, or loose tiles. These issues can give the impression that the house is not well-maintained and can turn off buyers.
Remember, staging is about making your home look its best so potential buyers can imagine themselves living there. For example, neutralizing decor and repainting brightly colored walls in neutral shades make your home more appealing to a broader range of buyers.
Hire a Professional Real Estate Photographer
Given all the innovations in photography and editing apps, taking photos of your home with your Smartphone may be tempting. While you may be able to shoot magazine-worthy sunset photos, taking jaw-dropping photographs of your home’s interior and exterior spaces should be left to the professionals.
Real estate photographers receive training and education in several ways. Some photographers may have a background in photography and have specialized in real estate photography through experience, while others may have completed specific courses or workshops.
However, professional real estate photographers can be expensive due to several factors. They use high-quality equipment such as cameras, lenses, lighting, and editing software to produce high-quality images that showcase a home’s features in the best possible light. Moreover, many real estate photographers also continually educate themselves by attending industry events, networking with other photographers, and keeping up with the latest online home photography trends.
But perhaps most importantly, real estate photographers understand lighting, composition, and angles to photograph the interiors and exteriors of homes. They need to be able to capture the unique features of a property, such as natural light, architectural details, and views.
You can expect a real estate photographer to spend several hours at your property, setting up equipment, taking photos from different angles, and editing the images to ensure they are perfect. The cost, usually covered by your realtor, also reflects the photographer’s expertise and experience in capturing real estate photography that helps market homes in the best possible light.
Hiring the right photographer is one of the best decisions you can make when putting your home on the market. And, given the significance and costs, you should make the decision on which photographer to hire with your realtor. Overall, professional real estate photographers provide a valuable service that can help sell a property quickly and at the best possible price, making their fees a worthwhile investment for sellers and agents alike.
Finally, Your goal is to allow the features of your home to speak for themselves. Following these tips can help your home stand out in a competitive real estate market and attract more buyers. Once your house is ready for showings, make a list of things to check off, including turning on all lights, adjusting the temperature for the time of year, putting out fresh flowers, and tidying up so your home is ready.
Store Your Belongings with Metro Self Storage
Since opening our first storage facility in 1973, Metro Self Storage has become one of the nation’s most respected storage providers. Our friendly and professionally trained property managers are accustomed to helping customers find storage solutions through different life transitions.
When decluttering your home during the staging process, self storage provides a secure solution to keep cherished belongings safe while your home is on the market. Additionally, you can choose from climate-controlled and drive-up access units and access your stored items seven days a week, every day of the year.
Visit Metro Self Storage or contact us to learn about temporary and long-term storage options near you.
