With buyer numbers increasing in Gibraltar after a quiet start to the year and treaty talks looking progressivly positive, what is usually a traditionally quiet period over the summer may be busier than usual as many decide now is the time to action their plans to move.
TIPS FOR SELLING A HOUSE IN THE SUMMER
1. DE-CLUTTER
A top tip that is applicable year-round is to declutter your home before putting it on the market for sale. It’s particularly hard for a buyer to imagine themselves living in a property if the house is entirely full of belongings, visualising how their furniture would fit or how they would live there could become challenging and result in putting a buyer off when in fact the property might be perfect underneath the clutter!
Rooms that are tidy and organised not only view better in person but look beautiful in online photos which is incredibly important.
The same applies to any very personal artwork or ornaments you might have in your home that might be distracting. Whilst it is currently your home and you live there, you might be able to secure a buyer quicker or achieve a higher sale price by enabling buyers to view the property as their own.
For more tips on decluttering and organising your home our previous blog and interview with decluttering expert Esme might be an interesting read.
2. FOCUS ON THE terrace
Terraces, gardens and balconies are in high demand and are usually at some of their most beautiful stages in the summer, it’s an excellent time to show-off a well-maintained outdoor space. If you have a terrace/garden and you’re selling a house in the summer, you should absolutely be focusing your attentions here. Be sure to regularly water the plants, remove weeds and cut any shrubs or overgrown bushes that might be restricting the natural light.
Set the stage for buyers so they can imagine themselves spending time in your garden. Get out the garden furniture, if it’s looking a bit drab then a lick of paint can go a long way to create a more welcoming space.
If you’re looking to inject some colour into your garden, plant pots can be a wonderful addition to brighten the space.
3. CLEAN THE WINDOWS
When the sun is shining dirty windows can be particularly evident and, in some case, can take away from the light that fills a room.
If you don’t have the time or the tools to clean the windows yourself hiring a window cleaner might be a good idea as it can really make a difference.
Many houses now have large doors or multiple, bi-folding doors which lead out onto the garden which get dirty quite easily if you have young children or pets so be sure to include a quick once over of these spots prior to viewings to really show off your home.
4. TIDY UP THE EXTERIOR
We’ve mentioned the garden as an exterior area to focus on when selling a house in the summer but what about the other areas of your property. Buyers first impressions quite literally begin from the second they lay eyes on the house meaning an unkept front door or peeling window frames are likely to set the tone of ‘needs work’.
Older Gibraltar properties often have ornate cornicing and might have timber sash windows, investing in redecoration of any painted masonry and window frames can make a huge difference to the first look of a property.
Equally any front garden or pathway and the front door should be tidied up as much as possible. Trimming the hedge and giving the path a clean can really help.
5. LIGHT AND AIRY – BUT NOT TOO HOT
Open the blinds and shutters and allow air to flow through the property. The sun shines for the longest through the summer months meaning you should absolutely take advantage of all the natural light that’s available through the day.
Certain rooms in most homes are prone to getting hotter than the rest of the house simply because they sit in the sun for the longest. Whilst light is a good thing an overheated room does not view well, similarly an orangery or conservatory can become very warm, especially at the height of summer so try to keep air flow through the property to avoid a room becoming uncomfortable.
LETTING A PROPERTY IN THE SUMMER
Many of the above points are also applicable to your strategy as a landlord to appeal to new tenants and minimise the risk of a void period. If your property has an outdoor space and you’re aware that the current tenants are not particularly green-fingered it might be a worthwhile investment to employ a gardener to tidy up the garden.
If you’re due to be letting your property in the summer our Lettings Team would be delighted to discuss your plans and share their knowledge in order to secure future tenants.
SELLING A HOME IN THE SUMMER – A GOOD THING?
There might have previously been the connotation that selling a house in the height ofa Gibraltar summer was not a good idea as people typically disappear off on holiday or have the children home for school or teenagers back from University so might not have the time to focus on finding a home, historically many would put their search on pause – this is no longer the case for the majority.
The usual peaks and troughs in activity seen across the Gibraltar property market are increasingly smoothing out as buyers can now access so much from anywhere, and at any time, online via Zoopla, PrimeLocation, Idealista etc.
Not only does this mean that vendors need to be very mindful of the digital marketing campaign undertaken by the selling agent representing their property, but that timing of a sale is less likely to be triggered by a change in season and more to do with personal plans.
Upper Town in particular has seen a distinct rise in interest over the past 12 months, in particular from UK originating buyers seeking the typical duplex 'house' layout they are used to, South District continues to be one of Gibraltar’s prime suburbs.
If you’d like to talk about selling your property in the summer, please do get in touch with our Sales Team for a no obligation discussion.