If you’re ready to start your next Illinois adventure, you’ve likely workshopped various ways to sell your Chicago home, such as staging and offering enticements like paying the closing costs. The average Chicago property spends about 36 days on the market; while this is below the national average of 54 days, it can feel like forever when you’re impatient to move on and get the financing you need to purchase your next property.
When it comes to selling your home fast, there are numerous options, from writing creative listings to fixing the lighting, but there’s another one you may not have considered: putting in new windows. This excellent investment may seem nonsensical – after all, you’re not going to be enjoying them for very long – but it’s actually a very sound business decision, given that it can provide an enormous return on investment when you find yourself commanding far higher prices for your home.
Let’s take a look at some of the most compelling reasons why you should consider contacting a Chicago window company to give your property a fresh outlook on life.
In a Seller’s Market, You Want to Command the Highest Prices Possible
The Chicago housing inventory is incredibly low: as of August 2023, there are only 14,426 homes available in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metropolitan area, down from a remarkable 42,594 homes back in July 2016. While this undoubtedly very good news for sellers, ensuring you can get a great price for your property, there are still ways to get even more, which is especially important if you’re planning to move to an even more competitive seller’s market than Chicago.
Installing new windows can give you a return on investment of nearly 68%; in contrast, other home improvement projects have an ROI of 20% to 30%. Energy-efficient windows are a particularly beneficial choice, as they will ensure buyers enjoy reduced heating and cooling costs. If you’ve lived in Chicago for even one winter, you know exactly how important it is to keep in as much of that precious heat as possible.
Enhanced Curb Appeal Attracts More Offers at Off-Peak Times
When people think of curb appeal, they generally believe that putting up a nice garden and perhaps installing a new fence is most important. While these are certainly a great use of time, they aren’t long-lasting investments – and they won’t help at all if you’re planning to move in an off-season like October or February.
Sometimes it’s simply inevitable that you can’t wait for a better time to sell your home, such as if you’ve accepted a new job in September and need to head across the country, or if a loved one is ill in another state and you want to be there for them. Unfortunately for you, Chicago’s cold and bitter climate means that homes really don’t look their best after Labor Day, and it can take some serious ingenuity to get your property at a competitive level for buyers.
If you want to sell your home fast in the winter months, you’ll need to focus on two things: inside staging, with warm and comforting scents wafting through the home; and an absolutely stunning facade, with lovely siding and sparklingly clean windows.
Wonderful windows give your home the best chance of getting a good price when flowers aren’t blooming and your trees are bare, helping you get just as great of an offer as you might in sunny July.
Provide Buyers With Peace of Mind That Will Encourage Better Negotiation
Maybe you plan to put your home on the market at the perfect time: June, when everything is sunny and people are in a great mood. You may believe that windows aren’t really as important then, but you’d be surprised at just how much the psychological security of new windows can really matter to picky buyers.
Even in a seller’s market like Chicago, buyers still have plenty of options; this is especially true given the excellent transit system, which means that suburban residents can easily hop on the Metra or CTA and get wherever they’d like without sitting in rush-hour traffic. This is why brand-new windows can be such a draw to those who might have chosen to go elsewhere, such as Crystal Lake or Arlington Heights: they know that they’ll be cozy in the winter and cool in the summer with energy-efficient windows. That, as well as an advantageous location, can make a huge difference in the price buyers are willing to pay, making new windows one of the best selling points for any home.
If you’re sold on the idea of buying new windows before selling your Chicago home, be sure to contact a good window installation company, one with years of experience and familiarity with the types of windows that work best in the cold Midwestern climate. A fresh set of windows will greatly impact the quality of offers you receive on your home, so consider getting in touch with a well-respected window installer before you get started crafting your MLS listing.
