You’re grateful for the years you’ve spent in this Minneapolis home. But now you’re looking for a new chapter. Your heart calls to escape 52 inches of snow per year, to live lakeside full-time like many of your fellow Minnesotans in a post-pandemic world, or to start a family in the ‘burbs. In any case, you’re ready to sell your house fast in the city of Minneapolis. Despite rumors of an urban exodus, homebuyers continue to flood the Minneapolis market in search of single-family homes, especially those over 2,000 square feet, according to the Star Tribune. In 2020, the median time a house was on the market in Minneapolis dropped to just 17 days — down from 20 days in 2019. Your house could be just the ticket for professionals at local industry giants like Target, General Mills, and 3M who now work from home and seek roomier abodes. To make sure they see your house as “the one,” especially if you’ve got neighbors with even more space, tap into these insights from local real estate experts. We’ll walk you through how to repair, prep, stage, and market your Minneapolis home to perfection. Local experts agree that the key to selling your home fast in Minneapolis is to stage a neutral, welcoming interior that buyers can imagine living in. To achieve this, you’ll need to clear out your personal items and stage the space with light, contemporary furnishings. HomeLight’s recent Top Agent Insights Report reveals that decluttering costs an average of $486 yet increases home value by $2,584 — that’s 400% of costs recouped. Looking for a simple and easy way to begin the process? Start with your closets. If you’re selling your home in the warmer months of the year, pack up your winter clothes and gear into boxes and store them in the garage. Your closets will look more spacious if they’re not jam-packed with bulky coats and ice skates. Next up, declutter your garage, especially if your belongings are taking up a car space (a precious commodity in this snowy climate). Install garage racks and overhead storage units to increase vertical storage. If your garage is still packed to the brim, rent a storage unit for the superfluous items until you sell your home. As much as you love those family photos from last year’s St. Paul Winter Carnival, they remind buyers that the space belongs to someone else. By removing personal photos and mementos, buyers can focus on your home’s structural highlights like the detailed crown molding in the dining room or peek-a-boo lake view from the guest bathroom. Melanie Zaelich, a Minneapolis based stager with over 20 years of experience in advertising and marketing, notes that there is one exception to this rule. If you have photos that highlight the lifestyle that your home offers, leave them up. For example, when staging a home near horse ranches, Zaelich left her client’s family photos with their horse on the walls. In this instance, the photos added style to the room, and, as Zaelich points out, helped sell the local lifestyle. “That’s part of what you’re selling when you’re selling a home. You’re selling the location and the lifestyle,” she comments. Your beloved Vikings merch, on the other hand, will need to go. Zaelich has encountered several basements decked out in Minnesota Vikings or Greenbay Packers gear in his time. And while a little team pride isn’t going to be a dealbreaker, it distracts buyers, says Zaelich. “They’re suddenly talking about the Vikings or the Packers and not about, ‘Oh, what a great wood stove,’” he comments. Give your home an instant lift with a fresh coat of light, neutral paint. Interior designer Elizabeth Cohen of award-winning Studio M recommends that sellers choose a sandy or putty shade. With nearly a decade of experience designing Minneapolis homes, Cohen promises that these neutral tones never go out of style. A freshly painted, neutral interior especially appeals to today’s buyers looking to their new home to signify a fresh start. “Change is on everyone’s mind this year,” Cohen comments, remarking on the chaos of 2020. When narrowing down paint shades, Zaelich reminds sellers to keep undertones in mind: “You need to pick the right tone that’s going to fit with your fixed elements, like flooring and cabinets.” If this prospect overwhelms you, stick with Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige or Agreeable Gray. These shades are versatile, suiting a wide variety of interior styles. At a minimum, top real estate agents recommend staging the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom. If you have a basement or spare room, consider staging this room with a work-from-home set up to appeal to Minneapolis’s growing remote workforce. When in doubt, a desk with a glass top makes the room look bigger while a stylish chair — rather than a standard rolling office chair or ergonomic monstrosity — creates a more inviting space for staging purposes. Use a rug to define the space and add a little warmth. Browse Houzz’s collection of Home Office Mirror Ideas and Photos including their Transitional Home Office and Studio Office design examples for mirror inspiration. Most of all, make sure that your home office is 100% clutter-free. Remove paperwork, notes, and knick knacks from shelves or desk space. Consult our comprehensive guide to staging a home office for more advice. Don’t let Minneapolis’s extreme seasons deter you from brightening up your exterior. Curb appeal is the first opportunity for buyers to fall in love with your home, which means it’s also an opportunity for you to sell your home faster. In fact, in HomeLight’s recent Top Agent Insights Report, 76% of agents agree that great curb appeal is the number one thing you can do to boost your home’s appeal. Minneapolis home exteriors endlessly battle the elements with an average annual snowfall of 55 inches and 112 days of precipitation per year. Look out for these signs of wear (your buyer will be!): Damaged rain gutters:Gutters and downspouts protect your home from leaks and water-related erosion. Thoroughly clean the gutters and downspouts, removing leaves and debris. Mend cracks and holes with roofing cement and a patch of flashing. Replace any gutter segments damaged with rust. Aging shingles:
Since roof repairs are some of the most expensive home repairs, expect your buyer to scrutinize your roof’s condition. Replace curling, buckling, and missing shingles for $1.20 to $4 per square foot, depending on the shingle material and the roof slope. If you suspect significant damage, order a roof inspection to investigate the issue before you list (average cost runs $119 to $303). Peeling paint: When moisture seeps into your exterior walls, it breaks the paint’s bond with the wood fiber, causing the paint to lift, flake, and peel. Thankfully, it’s relatively easy to solve this problem DIY-style. Remove the peeling paint with a scraper, wire brush, or 80 to 100-grit sandpaper. Then apply putty evenly to the damaged area. Once dry, sand the surface with 20-grit sandpaper until it is flush with the surrounding area. Paint over the repair patch following the instructions on your exterior paint container. Rusting mailbox:Don’t overlook your mailbox — it’s one of the first items a buyer notices when they arrive. Clean your mailbox thoroughly and sand down chipping paint and rust deposits using grade 3 steel wool. If rust persists, apply a towel soaked in white vinegar or baking soda and water to rust spots for an hour, scrubbing rust off once removed. Touch up or repaint the mailbox with rust-prevention spray paint. Minneapolitans love watching the city transform each year with the passing seasons. Tailor your landscaping strategy to the time of year you sell. In the spring and summer months, revive your yard with a lush lawn, fresh mulch, and bright perennial flowers known to thrive in Minnesota, such as peonies or snowdrops. Remember, some flowers won’t survive frost, so plant them after the last expected frost, typically around Mother’s Day. If you’re selling your home just before the cold fades away, choose freeze-proof plants such as Lily of the Valley, Siberian Iris, Coral Bells, and Siberian Cypress. In the fall, play up the season’s colors with a pot of chrysanthemums and a display of pumpkins by the door. You can always bring potted plants inside if an early cold front blows in until the weather clears. Once snow becomes inevitable, maintain a cheerful exterior with potted evergreen shrubs and a winter wreath on the door. Remember to always clear snow from your walkway and driveway for listing photos and home showings so buyers can see the condition of these elements. Precise pricing may be the most critical factor in determining how long your house is on the market. To price your home effectively, Rob Andert, a top agent with The Minnesota Real Estate Team that sells homes 74% faster than average, emphasizes the importance of pulling data from comparable home sales in your neighborhood. Andert always looks at similar homes in a quarter-mile radius that have sold within the last six months. To ensure the hyper-accuracy of his comps, he doesn’t look at comparable homes across any major roads or highways. Once he has an idea of the similar price points, Andert recommends pricing in $25,000 increments since these are the intervals that buyers most often filter homes online. By pricing conservatively at the lower end of the range, the listing will attract a wider range of homebuyers. For example, a home listed at $260,000 will only appear to buyers searching in the $250,000 to $275,000 range. A home priced at $250,000, on the other hand, will appear in searches for buyers looking at homes in the $250,000 to $275,000 range and the $225,000 to $250,000 range. According to a study by the National Association of Realtors, 95% of homebuyers used the internet to look for a house at some point in their search process. With so many buyers surfing the web to find homes, you need to craft a listing that wows buyers to secure a fast sale. Minneapolis homes are never far from local attractions, whether it be a stunning lake, the Mississippi River, walking/biking trails, or a cultural hub. Draw buyers in by mentioning if your home is down the street from the best Ethiopian food in West Bank or two bus stops away from the campuses and art museums in Dinkytown. If the property is close to a park or lake, pair with a written mention with drone shots to help buyers visualize the proximity. In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, you may have a lakeside view. If so, be sure to showcase these views in your listing. Not only will this appeal to buyers looking for more space and access to the outdoors, but proximity to water can also add value to your home. Studies show that properties with lakeside access have up to a 25% price premium. With average temperatures in the coldest months hovering around 27 degrees Fahrenheit, Minneapolis buyers will have winter on their minds when inspecting your home’s heating and insulation features. Show off your home’s toasty features to appeal to buyers looking for their ideal Hygge home by including details such as double-paned windows, fireplaces, hot tubs, spray foam insulation, and wood stoves in the listing description. HomeLight’s data reveals that Minneapolis homes sell the fastest in July, selling on average 11 days quicker than those sold in other months. Since it generally takes three months from list to close, we recommend that you list your home in April to capitalize on this peak sale month. If you’re more concerned with selling your home for the most money possible, then list your home in June to sell it in September when homes sell for 13.2% more on average. January and February are the worst months to sell your home since homes take 15 days longer to sell and typically sell for 12.21% less. If possible, avoid listing your home in October or November to not fall victim to this seasonal slump. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by these pre-listing tasks, rest assured. There’s only one thing you need to do to ensure you execute each phase efficiently: partner with a top real estate agent. Top listing agents in Minneapolis sell homes 41.42 days faster than the average agent, earning their clients 8.6% more on their home sale. To find top real estate agents in your market, plug your home details into HomeLight’s Agent Finder. We’ll match you with the three best agents based on transaction data like how quickly the agent sells homes like yours, how much they sell homes for compared to the list price, and how highly their clients rate them. Minneapolis’s high demand and low inventory create an ideal market for homeowners who want to sell their home fast. For a quick sale, remember to stage your home to perfection, create an alluring property listing, and list at the perfect price point. Most importantly, partner with a top real estate agent who can help you bring all of these elements together seamlessly.Stage the best interior on the market
Remove bulky closet items
Show off your garage space
Depersonalize (no Vikings rooms!)
Paint the interior a light, neutral shade
Stage a home office
Tailor your curb appeal to the current season
Repair weathered exterior components
Plant seasonal flowers and shrubs
Keep your walkway and driveway snow-free
Price your Minneapolis home accurately for a fast sale
Entice Minneapolis buyers with an outstanding listing
Mention local attractions in the listing description
Showcase your lakeside view (if you have one)
Highlight how cozy your home is
List your home in the late summer
Work with a top real estate agent
Act now to sell your house fast in Minneapolis
