Charlotte Home Selling Tips for the Fall Market

The Charlotte real estate market has been on an upswing for the past five consecutive months. Cross your fingers, hope and pray, and follow some of these seasonal selling tips to get a bit of an edge on your immediate competition and get your house sold.

Each season brings in the need for a new home photo...not the interior, the exterior! If your home has been sitting on the market since Spring, it is probably time to snap a quick photo of your home on a pretty fall day, and email it off to your listing agent.

You may prefer your agent drive out and get the photo themselves, and you may insist that it is their job. Sure it is! But, a helping hand, and the ease of walking outside while the sun peeks out, is in your best interest. So, why not?!! Snap it, and send it off via email.

Falling leaves, falling leaves...another point to ponder during the change of seasons,halloween is to keep the leaves off of your sidewalk-folks slip and fall when racing up a leafy sidewalk on a drizzly grey day. You're objective (as the home seller) is an offer to purchase, not a law-suit. The objective (as a Realtor) is to show the home, not call for an ambulance. Yikes!

With Halloween around the corner, yes, it is fun to decorate. Some home owners are masters with spider-webs...both real and fake. It's an art form, you know. However, too much of a ghoul thing is too much. If the graveyard groans coupled with murderous screams and bats flying from your trees seem like a paid Halloween spook show, tone it down. Remember, we're trying to sell your house, not Halloween. You may scare the buyers off before they even get out of the Realtor's car... On a side note...candy (chocolate) in the foyer is nice!

Show and Sell:

This is a seasonal post, so seasonally (and seriously), it tends to be a bit darker in the fall and winter months, shed a little more light on your interior with uplights or end table lighting that you would not normally leave on during the Spring and Summer months. For early evening showings, please leave your front porch light on. It is very dark out early, and we do need to put the key in the keyhole! 'We'll leave the light on for you', is more than just a Motel 6 slogan. It's a welcome to my home- we were expecting you. A very nice welcome, indeed.

What about Show and Smell?

You can't sell it, if you can smell it. Well, true in a sense. But, it depends entirely on the smell, doesn't it? Pumpkin Spice and all that is nice brings the warm feeling of home right into your house. Any scents that bring this season in have the potential of your home beating out your closest competitor...on the buyer's top pick list. (Of course, you want an offer, but to get an offer, you have to be in the top picks category-remember, there are a lot of Charlotte homes for sale!)

This can be a very opportune season to list your home. To be sure, fall and winter offer a bit less traffic in the way of home buyers. The reality is this: it is far less competitive for the seller as there are not as many homes on the market for a buyer to choose from (as in the spring).

The last quarter of the year is also when a lot of businesses will be hiring and relocating their mid-level management executives as well as their top tier executives. On that note, those that buy in the fall, are usually pressed to buy. Gotta move-gotta go.

Home and Hearth-A Holiday Glow.

Most home buyers choose the home they buy, because they felt at home when they first entered it. Homes tend to show beautifully, as they are groomed for the holidays. Enjoy what makes your house a home during this season. It may be just that element that brings the buyer to your door.

Remember, home is where the heart is, particularly during the holidays.