Preparing Your Home to Sell in the Winter Real Estate Market

The winter is a great time to sell your St. Louis or St. Charles area home. People do buy homes in the winter; in fact, buyers are more serious and more motivated during this season. Also, your home will have less competition in the marketplace. Even so, there are some things you can do to make your home stand out in winter real estate market.

Prepare for the Cold

When prospective buyers walk into your home in the winter they should feel cozy. Take time now to seal up any cracks or fix any windows that are damaged. Make sure you have a shovel and salt ready to keep walkways cleared of any snow or ice.

Check the Roof

If your roof needs any repairs do so before it is covered with snow and ice. Double check that there aren’t any leaks to repair. Make sure that by the end of the fall the gutters have been cleaned out of any leaves or debris.

Paint

Does any of the paint on the outside of your home need a touch up? What about the inside? You won’t want to paint outside in the cold and you may want to open some windows when you are letting interior paint dry. So painting before deep winter sets in is a good idea.

Clean and Organize

Deep clean your home. When the holidays come around you may be too busy or unable to complete some cleaning tasks, like cleaning out the garage or washing the windows. Make a list of things that need to be cleaned and organized and do the things that must be done before the St. Louis cold makes it unbearable.  You might even consider moving some things into storage (or a friend’s basement) before it gets too cold in order to make your house look and feel even bigger.

Take Advantage of Holiday Décor

Use mums or poinsettias to dress up a porch or foyer or hang a fresh pine wreath on the front door. In the winter you can make use of the season with Christmas lights to make your home for sale more inviting. Nothing feels like home more than a festively decorated house with all the touches of the season. But don’t go overboard, too many decorations and your space will feel cluttered.

Sell My St. Louis or St. Charles Area Home

Are you thinking of selling your St. Louis or St. Charles, Missouri area home this winter? Contact The Boehmer Team for more helpful tips to get you prepared for the winter market today. The Boehmer Team has been awarded St. Louis Post Dispatch highest selling agents and they would love to give a great home selling or buying experience to you.

Staging a Home to Sell

Staging a home for sale is beneficial for both sellers and buyers. According to Realtor.org: 37 percent of Realtors® representing sellers and 32 percent of Realtors® representing buyers believe that buyers most often offer a 1 to 5 percent increase on the value of a staged home. Additionally, 22 percent of Realtors® representing sellers and 16 percent of Realtors® representing buyers said the increase is closer to 6 to 10 percent.

Staging for a great first impression.

Meanwhile Realtors® on the buyer side believe that staging makes an impact in several ways; 81 percent said staging helps buyers visualize the property as a future home, while 46 percent said it makes prospective buyers more willing to walk through a home they saw online.

RESA (The Real Estate Staging Association) provides on-going statistics relating to home staging.  The most recent statistics show that staged properties sell 73% faster than properties that are not staged.

We asked our favorite local St. Louis area stager, Liz Connolly, of INhance IT! Home Staging some questions to help clarify the home staging process for sellers. 

What Homes Benefit From Staging

The Boehmer Team: How do you determine if a home can benefit from staging? 

Liz Connolly: Just about any home will benefit from staging.  The lower the price of the property the more it will benefit from staging.  Staging creates a vision of a lifestyle.  It draws the eye to the big picture minimizing flaws and accentuating the positive aspects of the property.  There are times, however, when the owner is not willing or able to make necessary repairs or there are just too many repairs to be made.  We encourage these sellers to list the home “as is”.  There is no point in staging a home if it is not in great condition.  In fact, we will not stage a vacant property that has not had the necessary repairs.  Staging can do a lot for a property, but can’t hide bad paint colors, dirty carpet, bad smells, etc.

Staging to update a space.

The Home Staging Process

The Boehmer Team: How long is the process of staging a home?

Liz Connolly: Once a client agrees to the staging we get them on the schedule and arrange to preview the home.  We are typically at least 2 weeks out as far as booking the install.  The home preview takes about 15 minutes – we walk through the home taking notes and photos and then go back to the office and create the “design plan”.  The actual staging process takes anywhere from 2-4 hours max.  We bring in a team of 5 professionals to stage the key living areas of the home:  living, dining, kitchen/breakfast, family/hearth, master bedroom & bathrooms.  We provide furnishings, area rugs, artwork, lamps, plants and accessories.  When we are finished the home shows like a display home and is ready for professional photography.

Staging an Occupied Home

The Boehmer Team: How does staging work when the home is occupied?

Restyle by staging for an inviting feel.

Liz Connolly: On an occupied property one of our stylists meets with the homeowner to assess everything that needs to be done prior to marketing the property.  This consultation takes about 2 hours and the seller is provided with a booklet outlining everything (curb through basement) that should be addressed prior to photos.  The stylist can come back and assist the seller with these projects, provide contractor contacts for completing necessary projects, and return to the property to prep the home for photos.

What Stagers Recommend to Home Sellers

The Boehmer Team: If you could recommend anything to a home seller when selling their home, what would you recommend? 

Liz Connolly: The 3 C’s:  Clean – hire a professional to give your home a top to bottom deep cleaning.  Clutter – edit your collections and belongings and pack away any personal collections and items that might distract the buyer.  Color – paint the key living areas (at least) a neutral color.  Something in the beige or gray family. 

Home Staging Style

The Boehmer Team: Does INhance IT! Staging decorate with a specific style?

Liz Connolly: Our staging style is transitional.  This is a style that translates well to almost any property and appeals to the widest range of buyers.  It is clean lined, neutral and elegant.

Staging shows what is possible so buyers don't have to imagine.

The Boehmer Team: How often do you turn your staging inventory to keep it current and in style?

Liz Connolly: We continually purchase new furnishings to the tune of around $400K per year.  As items become worn, dated or damaged they are donated to charity.  We partner with area realtors and organizations to furnish homes for those in need. 

Sell Your Home for the Most Money

When you sell a home with The Boehmer Team, not only do you get a team of real estate professionals, you receive the best help in the area for staging, handyman services or any other home-related services from our tried-and-true list of professionals.  We know the best professionals in the area to help you sell your home for the most money.

We would like to thank Liz Connolly from INhance IT! Staging for her home staging expertise. INhance IT! Staging is a full service staging company offering merchandising services for builder displays, spec homes, condominiums and re-sale properties.  They have staged homes priced from $42K to over $4million throughout the St. Louis & St. Charles County metropolitan areas. INhance IT!’s statistics this year are averaging 9 days from home staging to contract. Learn more about INhance IT! at INhanceITstaging.com.

Thinking of selling your home? Contact The Boehmer Team today.