How Weather Can Influence a Home Purchase

With all the variables that come into play when trying to buy or sell a house, you may not consider the weather’s influence, but it has a great one. Weather is one of the many reasons some people decide not to buy or sell a house. People do not want to leave their homes during rainy, hot weather. This can end up stalling the real estate market. One of the best ways to deal with this is considering weather predictions.

Predicting the Weather

The weather has an agenda all its own. Weather forecasters try their hardest to predict what’s in store for the week, but they don’t always get it right. This is especially true for those living in Denver. According to recent research, Phoenix has the most predictable weather, while Denver has the most unpredictable weather.

This information shows you that if you live on the west coast, you have a much easier time figuring out how you should promote your listings. With the dry, consistent temperatures, you know when to hold open houses and bring clients to homes since most people don’t want to do much when it’s raining or cold. For those in the Midwest, it might be a bit harder to come up with a better plan. Open houses will have to be arranged closer to the day they will be held to have a higher chance of favorable weather. Showings will have to be conducted on the spur of the moment, when there is a break of good weather. Otherwise, you will have to make arrangements to work with the weather.

Prepare for the Bad Weather

With unpredictable weather, you may need to make arrangements to deal with it. Consider doing the following:

• When doing a private showing, be at the house ahead of time. Have your umbrella ready and meet them at their car to shield them from the rain.
  
• Go into the house you are showing and turn on all of the lights and open the blinds. You want to give the house as much light as possible to offset the dreariness outside.
  
• Play music in the home for ambiance. This can drown out the sound of the rain outside to make people forget about it.
  
• Ensure that the heat is turned on and at a comfortable level. People should walk into home and feel relief. They should instantly think, “It feels so good in here!”
  
• Offer cold drinks when showing a house during hot weather. These cold drinks will be a welcome relief from the heat.
  
• Turn the AC up to a comfortable level if it’s hot outside. Do not make it too cold, but instead cold enough that people can really feel it when they walk into the door. This should be done a couple of hours before the showing/open house.
  
• For rainy conditions, put down some runners for people to step on. This way you don’t have to worry about wet, muddy feet ruining carpet. Just make sure the runners look nice, and don’t detract from the beauty of the home.

Don’t let the unpredictability of the weather keep your selling and helping people buy homes. Work around it or schedule showings during the best weather.