There's a reason why you never hear the phrases 'summer cleaning', 'winter cleaning' or 'autumn cleaning', yet 'spring cleaning' is an annual phenomenon. It's the refreshing springtime attitude that makes it a good time to sell a house. Throughout winter, we've been hibernating in our homes with the heating on high and the curtains closed for most of the day. But as the first green shoots start to appear, the way we use our home changes, and we naturally start to get it ready for the warmer, brighter seasons. We show you how to prepare your property's interior for a house sale in spring.
When selling your home in spring, a seasonal sprucing is a must. Spring cleaning isn't simply about dusting, mopping and wiping. It's also about looking for those bits of woodwork that need repainting, those bathroom tiles that need to be replaced, and the outside areas that need to be hosed clean and weeded.
There are also the many useless things that need to be thrown out to make a house look and feel new again. Presenting a clean, fresh and uncluttered home to potential buyers makes the most of spring's 'new start' mindset. For extra impact, use cleaning products that have a floral scent. Be sure to include your windows in the pre-viewing cleaning regime, and throw open the curtains to let as much natural light as possible into the house.
The new season is all about colour, with bright flowers starting to appear and greenery returning to the trees and grass. Extend these hues into your home in subtle ways to make it look and feel like spring indoors as well as out, leading to a more likely sale. Colours like yellow, pink, green and blue can be set against a neutral white or cream backdrop to bring spring's cheerful palette into your home. This could mean adding cushions, colourful items of furniture or painting a single bright feature wall in each room.
Spring is all about flowers, so as well as bringing floral colours and smells into your home, you can also add real flowers to complete the seasonal aesthetic. A single vase of flowers in every room will enhance the space while costing you barely any money. The effect will be to make potential buyers feel as though they've stepped into spring as soon as they enter your home, which all helps to encourage a fast sale.
This isn't an exhaustive list of all the ways you can make the most of spring as a good time to sell a house, and you're encouraged to find other small and inexpensive methods, such as finding the best ways to use plants. The key to selling your home in spring is to think about all the positive images, feelings and smells you associate with the season, and to find small ways to reflect this in your home. By engaging the senses to make potential buyers feel springlike as soon as they walk in, you're showing them that this house is the place where they can make their fresh start.
Just a few small details will ensure this spring is a good time to sell a house. Take a look at our other interior design tips for ways to successfully sell your home at any time of year.
