Hi!

Like in any marketplace there is a season for everything, from umbrellas to snow shovels.  Selling your home is no different.

But what may surprise you is not everyone is hibernating!  A quick look at MLS® data in HRM confirms this.  If I search the last 30 days (Christmas rush to mid January):

•  the number of properties SOLD outperforms LISTED by almost 50%!
• Re-entries into the Halifax-Dartmouth (HRM) market listings is almost 3 a day.  That is NOT winter doldrums.

And what you may not be considering is the list of “to-do’s” involved in getting your home ready to hit the market with a move-in-ready feel for potential Buyers.  At -15c not too many people are hitting Open Houses but whether it be for work, life change or family needs properties do list and do sell.  And our weather can change in 24h.

So it being mid-January (for you uber-planners Christmas is only 344 days away…only 65 to first day of Spring https://days.to/until/spring ) now is a great time to picture a For Sale sign on your lawn and your property listed on MLS® via realtor.ca and EXIT Realty Metro listings site.

A few “to-do’s” to consider:

•  to paint or not to paint?  Inside that is, since it’s too cold out there today.  Paint is a low-cost, quick improvement to refresh rooms that have lost a few rounds in daily life or the colour simply has to go before you do! Yes many new Buyers will want their own paint scheme but help them along to make the whole house look fresh and easier to say “Mark it SOLD!”
• …”there are tulips under that snowbank I just know it”.  Scroll through your phone and find pics of your garden and green grass and have them ready to add to your listing pictures
• take a critical look at your main living areas: do you need every appliance on the countertop plugged in or can we stow a few? Is your primary downtime area (living room, TV room) an inviting environment that helps a Buyer picture themselves in? Can we open up bedrooms by putting away clothes, make beds daily and be Viewing-ready every morning before we head to school/work?  Mutter your de-clutter motto “Less is More”
• Bathrooms, besides paint, need some TLC and perhaps some CLR to look clean. Refresh towels, grout, bathmats to brighten up your space.  It’s your home and you are proud of what you have so let it show!
• Finally, actually firstly but we’re here now, you reasonably seek professional advice when you consider major changes in your life; your home, your castle, is no exception.  A REALTOR®, is a licensed, trained professional knowledgeable about everything Selling.  My goal, as a Realtor®, is exactly aligned with yours: to sell your property at the best price in the shortest time.
• It really is a simple equation: Seller + Realtor® = SOLD

So let’s get started!  At EXIT Realty Metro we work with a great Affiliates team to guide you on renovations, inspections, legal questions and the necessary paperwork for you to get moving…literally.

Call me, Mark Walsh, at 9024883827 or email mark@mark-it-sold.ca or find me on Facebook at fb.me/mcwmarkitsold

P.S. As this is my Blog, these are my opinions.