We get this question every fall and winter without fail. Is it possible to sell my home in the winter months? Short answer – YES. And here’s how:

1. Keep it On. So let’s say you listed your home late-summer, maybe you started off priced a little too high, and now you feel like you’ve lost your chance until spring comes around again. Wrong. Buyers can be a bear sometimes, but they don’t go into hibernation, we promise. They are *always* looking. And if they’re motivated enough, they won’t wait to make an offer if it’s priced right and in the location they’re set on. So when all of your comps go off market to celebrate the holidays because they think no one is actually going to buy in December, you’re the one the buyers will jump on!
2. Price Matters. If you’ve been sitting for more than 30 days with very little activity, don’t go looking to blame the weather. It always comes back to price. #NixonPack nugget: Make sure you are pricing below the big numbers. For example, if our buyer client asks us to run a search up to $350,000, then you want to make sure you are priced just under that cusp. If you were set on $355,000, then you wouldn’t show up in the MLS drip and you’d be off their radar.
3. Don’t forget the lipstick. Of all the things you do to prep your home for sale, you have a real opportunity to tug at the buyer’s heart strings this time of year. Brush up on your pre-listing checklist first, add some lipstick, and don’t forget to gussy it up for Christmas. That blanket of fresh snow, the yummy treats that happen to be perfectly positioned in the cake stand, and the smell of a lovely holiday scent is what people will remember from their showing. A house that feels like a home. Their home.
4. Work with what you have. Let’s say you’re lucky enough to get an offer. Statistics show the first offer is almost always the best offer. Even if it feels too low for you, find a way to keep them on the hook. If you have a good Realtor, this will be a piece of cake for them. If the price is too low, maybe you can get them up a bit by compromising on their closing date, or offering to rent back for a short time. Perhaps even negotiate some of the furniture. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
5. No one wants to compete. If you think about it this way, selling your home in the winter could be the best case scenario for you so that you’re not up against eight other lookalike homes in your neighborhood come springtime. And the same goes for buyers. A lot of them lose out to multiple offers in a hot seller’s market and they’re afraid of losing out again. So this time of year can be a win-win for all.
6. Get Creative. Last but not least, get creative in your marketing strategy. Sitting idle this time of year and waiting for them to come to you will not work. Share your listing on all of your social media channels and ask your network to do the same. Even offer a fun incentive if they send someone your way who ends up buying. Maybe instead of the traditional open house you host a Christmas cookie exchange to show off your newly updated kitchen. Or a gingerbread house competition. Have fun with it and try to take the pressure off. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much that will help!

Have a question for the Pack? Send us a message below or stop by and see us over on the ‘gram @nixonpack!

PS – A good friend of ours just listed her home in our old neighborhood in Manlius, NY. Check it out and pass along if you know someone who’d like to bake in that kitchen! https://nys.mlsmatrix.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=1893299461