The 2022 home selling season is almost here! If history has shown us anything, it’s that come March prospective home sellers will be showcasing their homes like crazy for the high home-selling seasons of early spring and into summer. According to Zillow, “[h]istorically, May was the best month to sell a house, but that changed to March in recent years. In 2019, homes listed during the weeks of March 11 and 18 sold fastest. Keep in mind, we omitted irregular data from 2020. If you’re hoping to sell for more than the asking price, aim for the week of April 22. And try to list before September, because that’s when families start settling down to begin the school year. By October, sellers face the worst weeks of the year for maximizing gains — homes listed during the weeks of October 14 and 21 were least likely to sell above ask in 2019.”

Couple this with the fact that the ultra low interest rates we’ve been seeing are slowly creeping back up pushing prospective buyers to get a move on it and buy a house already.

This article will look at prepping your home from a couple of perspectives and outline the steps you need to start the process of getting your home sold.

Part I focuses on the basics of getting your home prepped to sell, like common repairs to be done and decluttering philosophies.

Part II shifts to the particulars of this upcoming home selling season in this (still going and going and going) COVID world.

Part I: Basics of Prepping a Home for Sale

1) Major Repairs - Roof, plumbing, electrical, A/C units, broken windows/doors, etc.

Roof, plumbing, electrical, A/C units, broken windows or doors….all of these major house components will be analyzed by outside sources, so it’s best to bite the bullet and get any glaring issue fixed sooner than later. Getting major issues fixed now will help decrease the bargaining power buyers have during negotiations (i.e. there will be less things “wrong” with your house that they can use as leverage to lower the price).

Getting major issues fixed now will help decrease the bargaining power buyers have during negotiations

If you’re not sure about the status of your home’s major systems, consider a pre-listing inspection. This is an optimal idea if your home is older.

Having it done before contract negotiations could also help a buyer with a tight deadline make a decision to go with your home over another - another tick in your favor!

Do note that sellers and sellers’ agents are legally bound to disclose any known problems in the house. This means that if you know it’s broken, you have to admit it!

2) Minor Repairs

Little things add up. If potential buyers go through your house and knobs are consistently loose, tile is cracked, hinges are off kilter etc. they may interpret this as an indication that there are even bigger problems that are being ignored. Tighten doorknobs and any loose drawer pulls, repair problematic thresholds, fix any cracked bathroom tile (or epoxy for a new look), and any other small projects you’ve been meaning to get to. Don’t give them any reason to think that there are problems with the home.

**Tip - To avoid feeling overwhelmed, go room by room now and make a punch list of little things that can be remedied by yourself in your free time. Each week or so, focus on one room and knock that out before starting on another.

3) Declutter - (aka “you knew it was coming”)

Start channeling Marie Kondo as your winter spirit animal because getting rid of excess and organizing all of your spaces (even closets and drawers!) may seem trivial, but have a BIG impact on how potential buyers will feel in your space.

…Messes and clutter…do affect how people feel when they are in your home and how they feel when they are in your home affects whether or not they want to live there” - True House Design.com

4) Emotional Prep - Set (reasonable) expectations of time and money

These are areas that some sellers neglect until offers start rolling in and the reality of actually having to move and sell their home becomes an imminent event. For this reason, it is a great and necessary idea to sit down (with your partner and/or family) and go over the reasons you are moving and selling your home. This helps move the conversation over to rational terms instead of leading with emotions. Remember, this was your home and you will have a new home, but for now, this is your investment and treating it as such will help you get you a bigger bottom line and get there faster.

If you feel that nostalgia may creep in during the selling process, consider different ways to preserve memories from your future old house. Grandma’s special wallpaper that needs to go in order to upgrade the kitchen can be saved for memory projects like this one that turns the wallpaper into vintage-inspired framed photos.

5) Consider hiring a home stager

According to the Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report 2018, 48 percent of recent buyers said that having a house staged was somewhat, very or extremely important to their home-buying decision. Home stagers do this for a living, so we know how to highlight the good and de-stress the bad in your home.

We also know what current markets look like and what buyers are looking for right now. We have oodles of inventory at our fingertips to fill your home with the right decor and the know-how to use your existing pieces if needed.

Overall, home stagers take a lot of the finite details of creating inspiring spaces off of the checklist for you (because it’s already long enough!). We can also coordinate contractors, cleaners and other service people for your needs.

PART II: Prepping a Home for Sale in this Current Market

1) Highlight dedicated spaces of particular activities (i.e. bars, workout rooms, reading nooks, home theaters)

People are spending more time at home because, you know, there’s this whole pandemic thing going on. With this shift of being at home more, the things that people want out of a house is shifting as well.

Homeowners are expecting more from their spaces since they are spending more time in them — more time at home working, entertaining themselves, relaxing and bonding with friends and family, etc. This all translates into needing spaces that can deliver much of what we need in one package.

A major shift in design philosophy is a move away from a totally open concept to more sectioned off areas as people try to incorporate all of the activities to fulfill daily life.

To give some concrete numbers, a recent Realtor.com article reports that “[s]earches on Houzz for the term “home office” were up 108% over last year….the terms “home theater” and “home gym” were even higher (up 190% and 156% respectively….Wine lovers and those craving their own bar at home also drummed up interest for their activity spaces, with searches for “wine cellar” soaring 271% and “home bar” 277%.”

If you do already have dedicated spaces for these areas of the home, great! If not, get creative and think about how to use some of your more undefined spaces for good.

An extra bedroom or corner nook can be turned into a home office area pretty easily with just a few changes. A reading nook can pop up virtually anywhere in an unused or odd shaped space, creating interest and connection to your home. These changes are fairly inexpensive, needing little to no investment because of the few key items needed to define the spaces.

2) Glam it up - People want luxury

Have you ever had a staycation? If you haven’t, you probably know someone who has, or at the very least you’ve heard of one. The staycation first came into public consciousness as a response to smaller budgets but big desires to still go on epic vacations. The premise is simple: Instead of going to another place that would cost tons of money, why not spruce up the house (and garden and pool) for a fraction of the cost of actually going on vacation and then enjoying all of those improved amenities year round?

Now enter Covid and the staycation has actually become people’s everyday life leading to the demand for more luxurious elements in the everyday home environment. Little upgrades like faucets and fixtures can go a long way with buyers to which I can personally attest. When I bought my first home, I was a single woman and the updated faucets and fixtures in my final purchase is what set it apart from other contenders. I wouldn’t have to fiddle with the upgrades myself and I knew the functionality would be better because they were newer products. It really was a deciding factor for me.

Adding a little glitz and glam to your spaces attracts buyers and makes your home memorable. So if you’re going to spend some money sprucing up your decor, but don’t have a ton of money to burn, focus your attention on the hot spots of the kitchen and main bathrooms.

Master Bath Before Pic. Plain and outdated.

Master Bath After.

A trendy paint color, new hardware, mirror and updated linens bring this bath into the current market.

Update kitchen faucets and hardware, add two headed showers, make your bathroom spa-like….all of these things will add to the upgraded feel of your home and leave potential buyers attracted to the possibilities.

3) Go green - Literally

Being indoors for two years, people are yearning for more organic color schemes and natural feels. In the same Realtor.com article from above, they state that from April to June 2021 searches for “green tile bathroom” went up 771% and “green accent chair” was up 754%! Following the trend, searches for “artificial plants & trees” as well as “indoor pots and planters” went up seven-fold (658%) and four-fold (353%) respectively.

Still need convincing? The paint gurus at Behr, Glidden and Sherwin-Williams have all picked a shade of green as their Color of the Year for 2022 (Breezway, Guacamole and Evergreen Fog respectively).

The take away — bring in the green! Plants, fabrics, rugs, artwork…it’s all up for grabs and can be done on any scale and any budget.

4) Go green - Look to outside spaces

Extend your home’s limits by providing even more living space outside. Relaxing, play and entertainment are all ways to enjoy an outdoor space so focus on how those activities can be highlighted in the areas outside of our home.

This outdoor patio was bare and boring. We added a cute planter’s table with colorful drinkware and accessories. The hammock adds more interest.

Don’t have a big yard? Add small but well-made garden boxes or raised beds for a charming alternative to a sprawling garden space.

Have some neighborhood noise? Consider a water feature or wind chimes to make your space more serene and inviting.

Also remember that winter is a great time to clean up yard debris and get any flower bulbs in the ground that will add to the curb appeal come spring and summer. Spruce up any outdoor buildings with new paint (perhaps to match the main house) or window boxes. Check out this article for more in-depth ideas for improving outdoor shed aesthetics.

Prepping Home for Sale 2022….