How To Nail A Winter Open House 


Open houses are a critical component of any house sale. 

Your realtor’s job is to get buyers through the front door of your home so they can see it in all its glory with their very own eyes – whether it be for an open house on the weekend – or even for private showings. 
Prepping for the sale of your home, for open houses or showings has it’s own ‘to-do list,’ and in the winter, the list is a little longer.  

It’s wet, it’s cold and people are burdened by the elements and have to be bundled in big coats, hats and scarves. You want to aid in making this experience as easy and enjoyable as possible for them. 

Here are 8 tips that are more specific to winter open houses: 

✔️  If there is any snow on the ground, make sure all the walkways from the street and your driveway are completely cleared of snow. Make sure to de-ice as well. Nothing ruins a home tour experience for a buyer like a slip-and-slide into a snow mound on their way in.

✔️ If you have an outdoor front porch, make sure it is cleared of snow and ice and kept as dry as possible. If guests enter directly in to the house, make sure you have a rug or mat by the door so they can wipe their feet. Just inside, have an area for wet drippy umbrellas and bulky coats and scarfs. 

✔️ Make sure the heat is on and the house is just the right temperature. The front door will be opening and closing so you will want to allow for that continuing loss of heat, especially with our minus figures right now.  Also consider that people will be bundled up, so don’t crank the heat to the point where people feel stifled.

✔️ Winter brings shorter days and cloudy weather, so it is extremely important that you bring in and turn on as much light as possible. Bright and airy is always more appealing to a buyer than dark and stuffy. Even though you may not be able to have the windows open, you can certainly make sure they are sparkling clean and all the drapes are pulled back.

✔️ No matter if it is winter, spring or fall, I guarantee there is far too much of “you” in your house. Prior to any open house, de-personalize your home, because buyers want to be able to visualize themselves in your home, not be distracted by too many personal effects in the home. Edit your personal items out of most rooms, leaving just small accents here and there. Start in one room and systematically go through every drawer, every closet and every shelf and carefully edit out personal belongings.

Whether it’s collectibles, family heirlooms, memorabilia or even little bits of your life  - it needs to go. When it comes to getting you the most money for the sale of your home…cut the personal clutter. It helps buyers visualize your space as their new home!

✔️ When clearing out the house, remove any polarizing elements, which is essentially anything religious or political. Most people have strong emotional reactions to religious artifacts and political mementos or statements.  Don’t give your buyer a chance to prejudge your home because your political or religious beliefs are on display.

✔️ Pets are a very personal part of your home.  You wouldn’t leave your Uncle Bob sitting in a rocker in the living room while buyers wander through the house, so why would you leave your pets running rampant throughout? 

✔️ Our final suggestion; it’s cold outside right now, so why not have a pot of coffee ready for people to help themselves??  It’s not a bad thing for your cold, thirsty buyers to linger there in the kitchen and have that 5 minute “coffee moment” that might just give them a taste of their new home. 

Team Elevarion Realty