The winter months are coming up and it’s often times viewed as one of the less desirable times to put your home on the market, but you can help your home stand apart and benefit from the winter months with a few simple tips.

1.  Make it Warm and Cozy

With the colder months rolling in, one way to help buyers “see” themselves in the home is to play up on the warmth of it. Quite literally, make sure the heat is on a reasonable temperature, even if the home is vacant. (Don’t worry about keeping it on all winter, just the day or so before the showing.) A cold, vacant, empty house doesn’t really say “inviting” to perspective homebuyers.

Additionally, with Daylight Savings Time, oftentimes winter showings occur after dark. Make sure to keep your house well lit to maintain its inviting feel.

2. Consider Staging

While staging a home doesn’t seem as necessary in a seller’s market, in the winter, it could help make the difference in closing a sale or not. And more often then not, the ROI is positive. One study by the National Association of Realtors showed that the average cost of staging a home is 1-3% of the home’s list price, but results in a net gain of 8-10%. Along the same lines, another study showed that staged homes sell, on average, for 6% above list price.

There are several other compelling statistics, such as average time on the market impacted by staging. If you’re interested, here’s a link: 11 Incredible Home Staging Statistics.

3. Take advantage of the lower inventory

Statistically speaking, less people list their homes in the winter. You can benefit from this and the data supports it. According to one study, homes listed in the months of December through March resulted in a higher percentage of above-asking-price sales than the warmer months – simply because of supply and demand.

Oftentimes, people who are looking for homes in the winter need to move (i.e. job transfer) and thus, have to find a home fairly quickly. This can help you as you help them find their next home.

4. Think about targeted marketing

While this is a more active approach to selling your home, speak with your Realtor about actively looking for buyers by targeting larger local corporations that may be transferring jobs into town during the first quarter of the year, when many transfers happen. While this may not always be viable depending on macro-level economic factors, keeping an eye out on publications like your local business journal for opportunities and then reaching out to any connections at those companies may be worthwhile.

By keeping in mind some of these tips, you can make sure your home sells in a timely fashion in the winter months.