Think cosy when selling in the cold

Clean and neaten your property's front entrance. It's what people see first. Photo / Thinkstock

WINTER SALES TIPS

Is there a season to sell your home? Kiwi homeowners usually wait until spring and summer to put their homes on the market. On the other hand, there's way less competition in winter.

Buying in winter can also be advantageous. The cold, damp weather will highlight any defects in houses you're considering.

In summer, the flowers are out, houses are warm and there's no condensation on windows. In colder months, our gardens look like there's been a nuclear winter, decks are slippery and unappealing, the house can be full of cooking smells. Rain and clouds make a home seem darker.

The reality is people need to buy year round. They may be relocating for a job, moving away, or have other life changes that mean they want to buy a new home now. In the current market they may be rushing to beat price rises, or selling to beat a property price crash (if you believe that's going to happen).

If you're serious about selling, the house needs to be welcoming when it's cold outside, says Rachel Dovey, regional general manager Eastern Bays at Bayleys. "It's about 'does it feel warm, how does it smell', and all those sensory things."

Those first impressions matter, says Dovey. Sellers should make the outside sparkle by addressing the landscaping. The trees are bare and there's less greenery around. Counter that by getting the outside of the house spic and span.

"It can look pretty dull otherwise and you want the house to look vibrant."

Tidy the garden

We don't get out in the garden as much in winter as we do in spring and summer. Take the time to clear all the dead leaves and deadhead flowers. Prune plants to tidy them and buy a job-lot of garden bark, which hides a multitude of sins.

In summer, the first thing we do when we get inside our homes, says Dovey, is open all the windows and doors to let the air in. In winter, it's easy for cooking smells to linger and the house to feel damp because no fresh air gets in. Make sure you ventilate well before open homes so that the house smells fresh.

Warm your house to a comfortable temperature at least an hour before an open home. Whether with a heat pump, log burner or other type of heating, turn it on.

"You always want to make the house feel warm and inviting," she says. "If the house is cold, people are going to think: 'This house is always going to be cold'."

It's even more important in winter for the house to smell super-clean. Use modern cleaning products, such as EcoStore, that have a healthy smell. Buyers, she says, tend not to like heavily perfumed cleaners such as Spray'n'Wipe.

Our beloved timber and tiled floors can be very cold in winter. Potential buyers will have their shoes off when they walk in at an open home. So consider putting additional rugs down in winter, says Dovey. "It is really nice to have some areas with rugs in winter. It makes [buyers] feel really welcome."

Buy flowers. Colourful flower arrangements can make the inside look more cheerful. This investment will pay for itself many times over.

Buy good quality aromatherapy candles and light them, says Dovey. They give a fresh healthy, romantic smell to the house.

Winter can be a great time to buy, says Bob Howard, business owner at Harcourts Kumeu. So don't hang up your house-hunting boots just because the weather's a little chilly and the nights have closed in. House-hunting in winter shows the property warts and all, which can be a bonus.

Outside, for example, says Howard, you can see if the lawn turns into a bog for the winter.

"I have seen properties where you can't mow the lawn for three months because they are so wet. Soggy lawns put people off.

"If you have a young family and want [the children] to go outside and run around they are just going to come in covered in mud."

TRICKS TO MAKE THE HOUSE SALEABLE IN WINTER INCLUDE:
•Adorn the entrance. Take a trip to the garden centre and buy camellias in planter boxes or other bright and cheery plants.
•Well-chosen planters are an investment and can transform the front of a house. Place them in strategic locations in the entrance and get advice if you don't have an eye for design.
•Waterblast. Get your house, paths and driveway washed professionally or crack out your water blaster. Houses, paths and drives can look grubby in the colder months of the year.
•Repeat water blasting if the house doesn't sell immediately. The green slime found on some paths returns quickly and the rain brings dirt back in double time.

In winter, you get a better idea of how the sun comes into the house, he says.

"And you see how you lose the setting sun over neighbouring properties. This is important because you want to make the most of the sun over the wintertime."

Wintertime buyers will see the true outlook of the house. In summer, a deciduous tree may well hide the mess in a neighbouring property that can be seen when the tree has lost its leaves.

In winter it's also easier to tell if the house is going to be damp. Look out for mould and dehumidifiers. If the latter are in every room there is definitely a problem.

He adds that people marketing their properties over winter are often more serious than those who wait for spring.

Buying this winter has added significance for some. Prices have been rising rapidly in many parts of Auckland and some buyers believe that putting off their purchases for six months until the weather is warmer will cost them financially.

In Kumeu, however, Howard says that's not the case. Around 1200 houses are being built, and 1200 more are planned.