5 Things to Do Now if You’re Selling Your Home in 2025

Selling your home in 2025? The spring home-selling season is just around the corner, and there is plenty to do to prepare. Here are some steps you can take now to make sure your home is ready to list when buyers are ready to buy.

If you plan on selling your home this year and want to get the highest price possible, aim to list it at the beginning of the spring selling season. Homes listed early in the season tend to face less competition, sell faster, and often closer to their list price than those listed later in the year.

You might be thinking that spring is still months away and you have plenty of time to get your house ready to sell. But in real estate, spring starts early—home sales typically heat up in February, right after the Super Bowl.

That means you have just a few weeks to prepare.

Most people underestimate the amount of work involved in readying a home for sale. Don’t make that mistake.

Home Sale Prep List

Here’s a list of things you can do NOW to ensure your home puts its best foot forward when the spring market arrives:

1. Remove All Holiday Decor. Any holiday decor still hanging around after the actual holidays should be removed and packed away. Holiday decor will make your home feel cluttered and stale to a potential buyer looking for a fresh start. 
2. Make a schedule. Set February 1 as your target go-to-market date and work backward from there. List everything you need to do to get your home ready, and add those tasks to your calendar. Prioritize and tackle them systematically.
3. Declutter and Depersonalize. Start now by tackling one room (and its closet) each weekend. Sort items into four piles: donate, toss, sell, and keep. Be ruthless. If you’re overwhelmed, consider hiring a professional organizer to help you. Additionally, resist holding onto items that you don’t plan to keep. Either donate or toss but send them on their way. Remove personal items such as family pictures. You want a buyer to envision themselves in the new home and they can’t do that if your family picture is hanging proudly above the fireplace. 
4. Consult a real estate agent or stager. Have your agent or a professional home stager walk through your home to recommend updates or changes that will maximize its appeal. These could include rearranging furniture, painting, removing wall-to-wall carpeting, or upgrading cabinet hardware and light fixtures. Small, low-cost changes can make a BIG difference.
5. Clean, Clean & Clean Some More. Either hire a cleaning crew to do a deep clean or prepare to start cleaning deeper and more often than you usually do. Baseboard, ceiling fans, door knobs, walls and light switches are all common spots that homeowners tend to not “see” dust and dirt in their own home. 

Selling a home is a significant undertaking. By taking these five steps now, you’ll be well on your way to a successful home sale while keeping the process manageable.