Tips for Selling in the Summer

Almost anywhere else in the United States, summer is the best season for listing and selling your home. Longer and sunnier days help the home show better for more hours of the day, families are motivated by moving prior to a school year beginning, inventory is flush and people have more time to house hunt. But in Florida... our market tells a different story. The Florida real estate market hops when everywhere else freezes over, so summer months are far from our high season. In fact, summer poses some additional challenges for the Florida seller, but they are challenges we can overcome! Here are a few tips for selling in the summer.

HIGHLIGHT THE ENERGY SAVING FEATURES

Let's be real: in addition to being a tougher time to sell, summer is also a tougher time to live in Florida, but you know what makes it easier? Having good energy saving features in your home. And what better time to highlight those than when the mercury is hovering in the 90s?! Heat-minimizing windows, new/newer AC units, multi-zone AC, solar features, and pool details are all critical information for the buyer when he/she has to break a sweat just walking in from the driveway! Summer offers the best opportunity to put these on display in real time.

Tips:

• Make sure your AC unit has been recently maintained and is in full working order.
• Crank the temp down a couple more degrees than normal before showings.
• Make a list of any and all energy saving features for us to share with potential buyers. (We can help with this, of course!)

PREEMPT LAWN & LANDSCAPING ISSUES

You have one of two problems with the exterior of your home during the summer months. 1 - It's so hot your grass is crispy and your flowers are wilty. OR 2 - It's so rainy that you have to weed every two days to keep the outside looking fresh. Yup, both of these can happen and in the past 24 months, we have seen everything from record-setting rain to record-setting drought and unfortunately, it's our job when selling your home to be on top of both of these possibilities. 

Tips:

• Get your outside power-washed if it needs it. Excess rain splashes dirt up on the outside of the house and fence and a good power-washing can really brighten the whole place up.
• Set aside 10 minutes to weed every day. Literally set a timer, do it for 10 minutes, then move on. You'd be surprised how effective this strategy can be!
• Make sure the lawn is being mowed regularly. This is needed more frequently during rainy summers.
• Brighten the curb appeal with hearty flowers, such as pentas, vinca, or salvia, that don't mind the sometimes-brutal summer sun. Summer rains usually take care of the watering bit, but if we are in a dry summer (like last year), make sure they get the occasional watering.

LIGHT, BRIGHT, FRESH & CLEAN

The abundant sunshine during the summer (or rather, during our whole lovely year!) really makes the inside of the home shine. So make the most of it! We'll get great photos before we list the home on a nice, sunny day to help with the online presence, but in person, your job is to make sure curtains are open and sunshine is able to flow in where ever it can! 

One thing that makes an interior dingy during the summer is.... kids. (Cue Debbie Downer-esque "Womp Womp" sound effect.) My apologies to the kids and parents who may be reading but if you are living it, then I trust you know the truth of this statement. Kids home from college or off of school with less on their agendas than usual wreak a little bit of havoc on a tidy home in the summer.

Tips:

• Curtains open, all lights on for every showing. Highlight that light!
• Simplify the presentation of your home with some staging. We can help with this! In most cases, a few simple changes can make a big difference in making a home feel bright & spacious.
• Allow yourself a few extra minutes to declutter prior to any showings if your messy kids are home for the summer. (Or better yet, make them do it! 😆)

DON'T FORGET ABOUT ONLINE PRESENTATION

This is mostly on us, your Realtors, but you should be aware of how your home is presenting virtually. With so much of Florida's purchases being made by out-of-state buyers now since COVID, how your home looks online is crucial. We will get great photos and in some cases also provide a full virtual tour of your home to help aid online buyers. But your job in prepping your residence for the professional photos is so important.

• Make sure your home is clean & tidy. Declutter and get rid of tchotchkes. You want potential buyers to be able to envisage themselves there, so give them space to imagine their photos on that bookshelf instead of your collector's edition of Harry Potter, please. 
• Tuck away unnecessary items like toasters, blenders, chargers, your Alexa, etc.
• We will work with a professional photographer and ensure that we are photographing the home on a day lovely enough to show the home at its absolute best.

Selling in the summer might present a couple more challenges than selling during season, but when you live in paradise, we find that they are all surmountable! With a little bit of patience and planning, we'll get your home sold in the summer in no time!