By Allen Green, John Green & Co.

With summer now in the rear view mirror, along with the traditional home selling season, is it a good time to sell your home? I get this question often, and my stock answer is that we sell homes 365 days a year. If your home shows well and is priced according to the market, it will sell. There are, however, some idiosyncrasies to the fall market that need to be considered when attempting a fall sale.

Typically, in the fall, there are still some homes on the market that did not sell during the summer. More than likely, they were overpriced or not updated. This offers you an opportunity to compete against homes that the market has not favored. The first thing you need to do is consult a REALTOR and determine a price that WILL be attractive to the market. Secondly, you need to make sure your home is in tip-top shape, inside and out, so it has that WOW factor for which buyers are looking. First impressions only happen once and you want to stand out against the competition. Here are a few tips to get your home ready for that fall sale:

Landscaping Matters

The green grass of summer is almost gone, and the leaves are beginning to fall. While you may not need to cut your yard weekly now, you still want to maintain that crisp clean look while your home is on the market. Freshen your flower beds, add some color, and keep the leaves cleaned up in the yard.

Check Your Lighting

It will be getting dark earlier and there is a good chance you will have showings in that late afternoon/early evening time period with less light. Make sure to check all your light bulbs inside and out. With the low light outside, you will want to turn on all lights inside and out before showings. The last thing you want is for a buyer to walk up to a dark home, with no lights on inside. On the other hand, if you go the extra mile and make sure everything the buyer sees walking up to the home is clean – including windows, light fixtures, doors, and porches, etc. – you WILL make a great first impression.

Porches are Important

Backyards and outdoor spaces sometimes get overlooked in the fall, when getting the home ready to sell. If you have a patio, covered or screen porch, outdoor fireplace or fire pit, or outdoor kitchen, make sure to keep those areas clean and staged to draw the buyer’s attention. Also, if you have a pool, leave it open and running. While most people tend to emphasize the backyard in the spring and summer, these outdoor areas get used in the fall when the temperatures are more desirable and can help set your home apart from the competition.

Decorate to a Degree

Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner and along with these holidays come lots of decorations inside and out. It is OK to have some decorations, but you don’t want to have too many. You want the buyers looking at your home, not your decorations. It is also a good idea to take photos without the decorations.

If you do these things and price your home correctly, selling your home in the fall should be a good experience.