SPRING VIEWINGS: GET YOUR HOME READY FOR THE YEAR’S BUSIEST SELLING SEASON

Spring has been the most popular season to buy and sell a home for as long as we can remember and with good reason. Plans are often hatched around the beginning of the year, and as the weather warms up and nature bursts into bloom, those plans swing into action.

Perhaps you want to move your family in time for the new school year to minimise disruption to your children. Or maybe you just love the idea of being in your next home by summer. Whether it’s more space, a bigger garden, somewhere with room for an office or even downsizing, spring inspires many a move, with sellers and buyers coming out of hibernation.

Of course, as more homes come up for sale, the competition to secure a buyer gets stiffer. So with spring just around the corner, now is the time to prepare your home to stand out in the new season. With that in mind, our blog this week is packed with tips for successful spring viewings to give your home the edge, and find a buyer fast.

Everything bounces back to life in the spring and you can embrace that feeling in your viewings with some simple planting to fill the air with freshness and connect with nature. Every buyer notices how a home smells, so why not give their senses a treat?

• Classic spring flowers include tulips, pansies, crocuses, hyacinths, alliums and of course, daffodils and they all look great either indoors or out.
• Outside, whether or not you’ve got flower beds, use boxes, pots and baskets to add instant seasonal life and colour to your windows, porch and garden doors. You can even get them ready-planted if you’re short on time or talent!
• Inside, fill a vase or two with a bunch of spring blooms for the dining table or kitchen worktop and choose single, short-cut stems for classic bedside styling.

Plants are such an easy and natural way to add beauty to your home with an extra inviting touch that’s always in season and appeals to everyone.

To shake off the last remnants of winter, nothing beats a deep and rejuvenating spring clean and brush-up. As well as finally vacuuming behind the sofa and dusting the backs of cupboards, turn your attention to these essential areas:

• At the front of your home, tidy the garden, jet wash any winter moss off pathways and clean the paintwork on your front door and window frames, repainting where necessary.
• Look up at your roof for any slipped or missing tiles and check if the gutters are blocked with leaves or mulch.
• Banish dowdy decor inside with a fresh coat of paint – seasonal colours include sage and pistachio greens, cool lilacs, powder blue and rose.
• Declutter by selling, donating or chucking anything you’re not keeping when you move, then clear the floors to make your rooms feel bigger and neatly file away any lingering paperwork.
• Don’t depersonalise! Character sells homes and beautifully arranged shelves and bookcases look homely and welcoming for photos and viewings.

If you’re unsure what to keep on show and what to put away, ask your agent for advice. As an example, if you’ve got a gorgeous Dualit toaster or Kitchenaid, don’t cramp their style with a month’s worth of post.

Selling your home in spring means later sunsets and more evening viewings when it’s light, which helps buyers to make their decision faster. Here’s how you can make it even easier for them.

• Fling the curtains open as wide as possible to expose more glass and maximise the levels of natural light.
• Clean your windows for sparkling panes inside and out, then watch as the light instantly improves.
• Polish your mirrors, glass surfaces, ceramics and any reflective accessories to bounce the light around your rooms. Don’t forget metal switches, sockets and door handles – it all counts!
• Check your rooms at sunset to see whether any need the lights on and if any corners could do with a lift from floor or table lamps. Swap any cold white bulbs with soft-tone replacements.

Along with floor space, natural light is right at the top of the list for most buyers and they’ll notice if your home feels darker indoors than outside. So it really pays to reflect and amplify as much natural light as possible to make the most of what you’ve got.

We wrote a whole blog on 2023’s interior design trends at the beginning of the year but here are some quick tips for a swift booster of stylish spring moments that you can take with you when you move.

• Check your favourite stores for their spring collections of cushions, bedding, throws, towels and rugs for a cost-effective update of soft and touchy textiles.
• Introduce organic forms and opulent materials, from glass bubble lighting and sculptural ceiling pendants to brass and marble finishes for accessories and occasional furniture – think mirrors, side tables, pot stands and trays.
• Use botanical art to transform plain bare walls into gorgeous hanging gardens with a dash of biophilic design – bring the outside in, with no need for watering!

With just a weekend of your time and a fairly small investment, you can not only evoke the upbeat feeling of spring, but also give potential buyers a fresh and on-trend viewing experience that keeps your home at the front of their minds.

The culmination of all your preparation for spring viewings and the key to getting the best enquiries, is the photo shoot. Homes are really photogenic at this time of year and here’s where the right staging with the right photographer taking the right combination of photos becomes invaluable.

• Ask agents whether they use professional photography and check their listings to see if you’re inspired. Some giveaways of poor-quality photos are wonky pictures where walls and horizons aren’t straight, cameras pointing at the floor, and insufficient or uneven lighting.
• The day (or morning) before the photo shoot, pick up some fresh-cut spring flowers from the florist (and not the petrol station) for a vase or two that you can move around for different shots and some fresh herbs for the kitchen.
• As well as whole-room photos, ask the photographer to take some close-up vignettes of your furnishings and accessories that reflect the spring for some alluring magazine-style marketing.

You can get more tips and tricks on staging your home for photos in our Photography Secrets blog  – a room-by-room guide to getting every part of your home looking perfect for its moment in front of the lens.

HOW’S YOUR HOME LOOKING FOR SPRING VIEWINGS?

First and lasting impressions count, so if you’re thinking of selling your home, we’d love to show you how we can help you sell for the best price – and fast – with perfect preparation for spring viewings. Call us on 01463 250000 or drop us a line at askhamish@hamish-homes.co.uk for a chat – we can’t wait to spring into action and get your move started!