We Know Boise Real Estate

Selling Your Home in the Fall? Good Idea

Posted by Lisa Kohl on Wednesday, October 14th, 2015 at 12:21pm

Selling Your Home in the Fall

Today we wanted to work on debunking one of the most common myths in real estate – selling your home in the fall. Summer has come and gone. Maybe you have considered the idea of putting your home on the market but just didn’t get to it this summer. Most sellers will just shrug it off and wait again for spring and while a bulk of sellers will do just that – this is time to rethink your home selling strategy.

Sell My Home Now or Wait Until the Spring?

The real estate market doesn’t just come to a screeching halt once summers over and the buying does not stop. With all the technology at our fingertips, this allows buyers to literally shop for a home any time of day, and day of the year. When you think that Autumn weather would have a huge impact – here we have a great fall season and moderate to mild winters – perfect for house looking!

Over the last three years in the Boise area prices actually increased during the fall months! Yes, you read that right- INCREASED. Why? Because there was such a lack of inventory and still a lot of pent up demand. This is why as a seller, the ball is in your court. Less homes on the market means fewer homes for buyers to choose from.

The Motivated Buyer – these are the folks that need to make a purchase. It could be a job transfer that brought them to the area and they need a place to call home. Maybe they’re running out of time on their loan pre-approval and do not want to start the process over again among other things.

Your Type of Buyer. Folks are more fluid today than ever before when it comes time to buy. Timing isn’t necessarily of the essence and if it’s the right fit – they’re willing to make the next move. Millennials tend to offer the flexibility and people that are downsizing, or looking for their forever homes, tend to also have flexibility as it usually will pertain more to the type of property versus overall timing.

Better Timing Overall? Let’s face it, people are usually on the run during summer. Between vacations, family reunions and road trips there simply isn’t enough time to dedicate to a home search. Right now, I am noticing that homeowners are getting those last minute outdoor projects done on their homes. Why? Because they didn’t want to deal with it over the summer. Same goes for potential home buyers as well. Now that we have all had time to acclimate back into a normal schedule, it’s back to business!

7 Tips for Selling Your Home in the Fall

So now you’ve thought about selling this fall, what’s next? Like any time of the year, presenting your home in the best light is key. Some basic home selling tips include

Upping the ante with awesome curb appeal – Even though the days are cooler, you want to be sure your lawn is looking sharp. Luckily, this doesn’t require weekly lawn mowing and constant weed pulling but making sure your lawn is looking tidy is key.

Bags of mulch do wonders for flower beds too! This is by far one of the simplest and most cost effective things you can do. While most plants are on their way out due to seasonal changes, take the time to pull out dead plants and replanting with some mums. These plants are hardy, affordable and add a pop of color.

Exterior paint looking a little faded and drab? The weather is still warm enough so if your home is starting to show a bit of age, with faded or peeling paint, now’s the time to address this.

Please, please, please! Power wash the exterior of your home! This doesn’t even require an actual power washer. You can purchase a special water hose attachment for less than $10 at your local hardware store. Depending on the size of your home- this shouldn’t take any more than a couple of hours and let’s face it- we’re not going with a Halloween theme here and don’t want spiders and cobwebs hanging around.

Wash the windows, inside and out. Change in seasons also means a change in sun exposure and ample lighting is key when making a good impression with a potential buyer. While some good old paper towel and Windex are ideal for cleaning the exteriors of the windows not all homeowners have the luxury especially if the home is a two story. Luckily, they sell a container of window cleaner that attaches to your water house helping wash those hard to reach windows with ease.

Add some cheeriness with some gourds or pumpkins on the front porch – this will help make the entrance more inviting to prospective buyers and the best part is you can keep them up all the way until Thanksgiving.

A good deep cleaning and some decluttering of the interior of your home. Just as it sounds, no matter the time of the year, you always want your home to shine in the best light possible. While it doesn’t have to look drab or sterile, your home should be cleaned of all debris and decluttered so buyers can see all the potential space they are looking to buy.

Now that you’re all up to date on Fall home selling, what are you waiting for? New buyers are coming into the market weekly and are looking for an awesome place to call home. Especially at a time when many markets are experiencing a shortage on housing inventory, be the one to get it sold. For more resources on selling your home take a look at how we sell homes.

Boise Real Estate Agent Lisa Kohl

Lisa Kohl

Lisa Kohl is a full-time real estate professional in Boise, Idaho. Lisa’s experience as a Realtor helps her clients successfully complete real estate transactions without a hitch. Questions about this post, send us and message. We love receiving questions from our readers. They allow us to focus our content on issues that are important and relevant to sellers and buyers in Idaho.

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