Selling your home takes a lot of preparation. You have to educate yourself about all the aspects of the process in order to maximize your profit. Among good marketing and repairing/upgrading, timing is one of the key factors of closing a good sale.
Of course, general timing is right whenever you decide it’s time to sell the house. You were probably planning this for years, and the time has finally come. However, the time of year you choose to put your home on the market can play a big role in the outcome of the sale.
If you choose the wrong time of the year, your house can end up sitting in the market for months, which can cost you a lot of money. There are peak seasons of the year when generally more people buy houses. This is just a tendency, not a rule, but you should still know which is the best time to sell your home as quickly as possible.
Spring
Photo by Binyamin Mellish.
On average, spring is the best time to put your house on the market, but that doesn’t necessarily stand for all of the USA. In some areas at this time, it rains too much, at others, it’s tornado season, and in areas like Southern California, it’s already too hot in May.
However, spring is traditionally the time for buying houses. It has been so for decades, so a lot of buyers will pursue a home at this time due to social inertia. Besides, there are practical reasons that make spring the hottest season for selling a house. For one, this is the time of tax returns in all of the country, so people everywhere have more funds to spend.
Another reason is obviously the weather. It’s getting warmer and people want to go out for any reason, especially if they are buying a house. As nature awakens, your yard and your neighborhood become greener and blossoming. This will make your house look more appealing, increasing your chance to sell.
Nobody wants to look for their future home in the dark. There are fewer showings during the winter because of the daylight shortage, so in the spring, as the days get longer, you’ll be getting more visitors. Finally, a lot of family buyers hope to close the sale just at the time the school ends, so they can move in with the kids during the best moving season.
Summer
Photo by Max Vakhtbovych.
When it comes to the average house selling rate, summertime is right behind spring. In some parts of the country, June is the best time of the year to sell a home. This is the time with the most daylight, which means more showings during the day. The weather is more predictable than in the spring, which encourages potential buyers to schedule a visit.
Buyers with school-aged kids are running out of time to settle before school starts, so they will be in a rush to close. Some people will use their vacation days to browse for houses, which means that they will offer competitive prices for the houses they like in order to close the sale before the end of their buying season.
On the other hand, the vacation season can mean fewer showings, because a lot of people will actually go on a vacation. In many parts of the country, the heat is unbearable during the day, which means you can get next to no showings.
In the parts of the country where summer is the prime selling season, the competition is too high. That means that all the best agents will be taken, and you might find it harder to hire a good agent. More competition naturally means competitive prices, so you might have to settle for less than you hoped.
Autumn
Photo by Marta Wave.
Fall is the end of the buying season, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t close a good sale. This season definitely has its advantages. Less competition can mean a lot of benefits. For example, costs of fixing and improving your house will go down, because more professionals will be available.
There are always determined buyers that didn’t get to buy the house during the prime season, but they want to close the sale and move in before the holidays. If the house is located in a vegetative area, fall might be the most beautiful time of the year with its changing colors. This can make some potential buyers fall in love with the place.
On the other hand, school starts and the majority of families are unable to browse for homes and organize moving. The wetter weather and less daylight mean fewer showings, which really decreases your chances of selling your home quickly.
Winter
Photo by Kelly Lacy.
This is definitely the season with the lowest chance of selling a house. It is the coldest season, the days are the shortest, it’s the time of holidays, and people are tight on budget and more demanding. In some southern parts of the country, winter is actually the prime season, but for the majority of the country, it’s not very advisable to go on the market.
However, this leaves more room for the bravest sellers. Even winter has its perks if you look at it from a certain point. For one, there is basically no competition at this time of the year, and there are always some buyers. This means that even the best agents are available and they will be highly motivated to close more sales by the end of the year.
The buyers, even though in fewer numbers, will also be motivated to close the sale by the end of the year and become eligible for tax returns. Some of them are forced to relocate at this time due to business reasons, so they will rather buy a home now than sign long rental contracts and lose money on rent.
You can take advantage of the holiday season by decorating the house in such a manner that will make people feel at home. If you have good heating, winter is the best time to point that out, because the potential buyers will be coming in from the cold outside. If they feel warm once they’re in, they will wish to stay longer, maybe even for years.
The Timing Can Always Be Right
Any season can be the prime season for selling a house, depending on your location. Generally, it’s spring and early summer that carry the have the most opportunities. However, it might be wise to consider the other two seasons in order to avoid the competition. If you know your selling points, any season can be your season to sell the house.
Main Photo by RODNAE Productions.
