Getting your listings ready for the Summer

Although there may be fewer home buyers during the Summer, as we’re coming off of real estate’s busy Spring season, active buyers tend to be more serious during these warmer months. Being prepared with summer-ready property listings can help you cater to this season’s hot buyers’ market.

This article covers six different tips to help you prepare your listings for the summer:

1. Enhance curb appeal
2. Prepare outdoor spaces
3. Highlight proximity to summer amenities
4. Feature summer-centric photography and visuals
5. Promote energy-efficient features
6. Leverage digital marketing for seasonal promotions

1. Enhance curb appeal

In the competitive real estate market, curb appeal plays a significant role in attracting potential buyers. It’s a simple and efficient way to increase a property’s value with minimal effort. 

With blooming flowers, trees full of leaves, and lush, green lawns, summertime already offers a great foundation to build upon. Regular outdoor maintenance can then be a good way to get started, including landscaping, yard work, walkways, and entryways. Once the basics are covered, the exterior of a house can be further adorned with seasonal flowerbeds and potted plants, shrub trimming, and porch furniture to add a more personalized touch.

2. Prepare outdoor spaces

As summer approaches, people are eager to take advantage of warmer weather — making it the ideal time for homeowners to showcase their outdoor spaces.

In order to attract potential buyers, sellers should enhance and stage their outdoor spaces (such as patios, decks, and gardens) to create an inviting atmosphere. Showcase features like swimming pools, outdoor kitchens, grilling areas, and landscaped yards — which can be great for entertaining and relaxing in the summer — to help people envision themselves living there.

Aside from using high-quality photos and descriptions that highlight all these features, make sure that your live showings are just as informative as you guide buyers through the home and the lifestyle it offers. During those visits, you might want to start outside the front door and end up in a cozy backyard or shared outdoor space to give future buyers a sense of the listing’s seasonal features.

3. Highlight proximity to summer amenities

A property’s proximity to popular seasonal amenities is a key selling point during the summer. Research and showcase nearby attractions that are particularly attractive during the summer, such as beaches, lakes, hiking trails, parks, outdoor recreational areas, and local summer events and festivals. 

This information will help you emphasize the summer living experience and convenience the property can offer potential buyers. The more the buyer knows about all the surrounding amenities, the better able they are to envision themselves enjoying the vibrant summer lifestyle of the area.

Finding out what interests and lifestyles your potential buyers have will help you adapt how you position a property. Having a property in an area known for its outdoor recreation opportunities, for example, can be particularly appealing to buyers who enjoy an active summer lifestyle. Boating, fishing, hiking, biking, golfing, and other sports available nearby can be mentioned in this case. Some families might also enjoy visiting a nice, air-conditioned mall nearby, so knowing various types of nearby services can be helpful. Local Logic works with an excellent agent who takes clients to local ice cream shops and cafes as a way to highlight the neighborhood.

4. Feature season-centric photography and visuals

Buyers appreciate bright, well-lit spaces. So, as summer brings longer daylight hours, this is the perfect opportunity to show off a property’s natural light. To reflect the vibrant and sunny atmosphere of summer, make sure your listings:

• Capture images that showcase bright, natural light pouring into the property, open windows, and views of lush greenery
• Use visuals that evoke a sense of summer to help potential buyers envision themselves enjoying the property during this season 

In fact, you should always update your images for any season. The sight of snow and ice, when you are looking for a home in the Spring or Summer, makes the listing appear stale and outdated. The opposite also holds true. To ensure the listing looks as fresh as possible, make sure the photos match the time the home was listed. With some homes sitting on the market longer than others, this new dilemma may be something you need to watch.

5. Promote energy-efficient features

As the weather gets warmer, energy efficiency becomes more desirable. A higher energy bill is often associated with summer because of the increased use of air conditioning.

Promote eco-friendly features of the property, such as modern insulation, energy-saving appliances, solar panels, insulated windows, and programmable thermostats. For the summer months, make sure potential buyers know about the savings associated with these features.

6. Leverage digital marketing for seasonal promotions

Take advantage of digital marketing channels to promote your listings effectively during the summer. Run targeted online campaigns highlighting the unique features and benefits of your summer-ready properties in markets where people are moving from or to.

Use social media platforms, email marketing, and real estate websites to reach a broader audience and generate interest in your listings. For example, you can monitor social media activity to see if folks are complaining about the latest heat wave or wishing to be near a pool or beach. Then you can show them listings in neighborhoods that have great local pools or water access where residents can cool off in the summer heat. To demonstrate your local expertise, you can also post photos of families enjoying outdoor activities in the neighborhoods you serve.

When it comes to selling properties during the summer, strategic approaches can significantly enhance the chances of success. Season-centric tactics enable real estate professionals to take advantage of summer’s vibrant atmosphere, helping buyers visualize themselves living in the property and creating lasting connections that lead to successful sales.