When it comes to selling your home, winter may be the last season you’d consider listing. However, there are many benefits to listing your home during the colder months that you may not have considered. Home buying happens all year round, and there are still plenty of buyers out there.

Here are the top 3 reasons to list your home in the winter:

Show Off Winter Features

Selling in the winter provides you the perfect opportunity to highlight features and upgrades that show your home is winter-ready. Potential buyers can see and feel the advantages of an energy efficient home, which you can easily highlight in the winter months. They also tend to sell for higher prices than homes without.

Make sure your driveway and walkways are salted and clear of snow. Not only is this crucial to making the home appear well maintained, but it also protects visitors from a slip and fall.

Remember to turn the heat up before a showing, especially on colder days. First impressions matter, and you don’t want potential buyers to freeze upon entry. Light a fire if you have a wood-burning fireplace to make your home feel warm and inviting.

Buyers Are Motivated

Many buyers tend to wait until spring before they start looking for a home. Since more homes are on the market during the warmer months, these buyers are often content to window shop and take their time before making an offer.

However, buyers who are looking for homes in January and February are often real buyers, intent on making a purchase. They don't want to take a chance of waiting until spring and losing out on a home.

There may be fewer showings and less people at open houses, but it's better to have 10 motivated buyers come through than 20 people who are just curious. Remember to put down rubber mats by the door and buy a few courtesy slippers for visitors to prevent snow from being tracked into your home.

There’s Less Competition

Most sellers think that they need to list in the spring since it's the most popular home-selling season. The weather's warm, the days are long, and the housing market is buzzing with an abundance of listings and open houses.

But along with this comes more competition for buyers’ attention. In fact, more than a third of the homes listed in the spring need to be re-listed before a formal offer is made. This means many of the homes listed don’t sell straight away.

One of the greatest advantages of listing in the winter is that there's less competition. With fewer properties on the market, sellers have more control and can take a little more time to consider offers.