Ten Tips for Selling your House in the Winter
I hear we are supposed to have the harshest winter we've had in a long time. Brrr!! I'm getting cold just thinking about it. I think I'll move to Florida now! Wait a minute, if I go to Florida, who is going to help you sell your home 
News like this will cause some people to not want to list their home until the spring. That is perfectly understandable. Sometimes there are reasons beyond your control where you need to sell your home during the winter. Look at the bright side, there are typically fewer listings on the market during the winter which will make yours stand out more. It could actually be beneficial for you to list your home in the winter. You've heard, location, location, location. Well in the winter you need location as well as presentation. People can't see your well manicured yard with the beautiful tulips. All they see is snow, snow, and more snow. 
Presentation is a large factor when selling your home this time of year. You want to make sure your home is welcoming so that buyers want to see it.
Here are a few things you should consider when selling your home in the winter.
1. Always make sure your snow is shovelled and the driveway and walkways to your house are clear. When showings are going to take place, it is a really good idea to salt the walkways so that potential buyers don't slip and fall. It is also a good idea to clear the sidewalks in front of the home so that people are able to take a walk around the house.
2. Place a rubber mat at the front door so that snow (which melts into water if you can believe that) doesn't make a mess of your entrance
3. Turn up the heat a couple of degrees. Potential buyers will come in from the cold and instantly feel how nice and warm your house feels. The overall feeling will be positive. If you have a gas fireplace, light it up.
4. Bake an apple pie, cinnamon rolls or chocolate chip cookies. Not sure if you knew this but baking gives off a nice aroma. When my mother-in-law bakes, I go nuts over the wonderful aroma. Some people told me that you can heat up vanilla. Better yet you can get scented oils that smell like baking which will save you all the trouble of baking. Don't over do it though. Some people are really sensitive to different smells so you don't want to get too crazy 
5. Let the holiday season work in your favour. Decorations, trees, lights and wreaths all add character and make people feel at home. You might not want to get carried away like the Griswalds though. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qc_RYm0ylA
6. If you are close to a ski hill or a big tobogganing hill, selling you house in the winter could be a selling feature.
7. Place emphasis on the positives. Is your home close to bus routes or does your street get plowed quickly and salted regularly in bad weather?
8. Build a snowman in front of the house. It can't hurt. People driving buy will look at your house and see the snowman. The snowman can represent a friendly presence that might entice prospective buyers.
9. If the realtor holds an open house, serve hot chocolate 
and the cookies you baked in tip #4 
10. Last but not least, after you sell you house, take a vacation to somewhere warm to celebrate your success. 
Hopefully you find these tips useful and gives you a little inspiration. There are always people looking to buy a house and your buyer could be one showing away.
Take care!
Warren