When Is the Best Time to Sell a House? Maximizing Home Value

The best time to sell your house is during spring or summer, with the peak buyer activity in March, April, May, and early June. If you’re ready to list, aim for Wednesday or Thursday to maximize visibility and interest.

While these seasons offer a great chance for a profitable sale, factors like current market trends, economic conditions, and personal circumstances all influence the ideal timing.

We’ll describe the key factors impacting the housing market, timing, and your potential profits. So, keep reading to learn how to make informed decisions on when to sell your house.

What Does the Current Housing Market Look Like in 2024?

If you have solid personal reasons for selling your house now, then the housing market shouldn’t affect your decision. However, if planning the sale won’t hurt, you must understand the market trends, especially if you plan to buy a new home.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mortgage rates dropped to historic lows of about 2-3%. As a result, many people applied for new home mortgages, while others refinanced their existing mortgages to lock in the low mortgage rates.

However, as the world overcame the pandemic, mortgage rates increased again to help control inflation. Home prices are growing and will likely continue to climb next year. Consequently, people who bought homes during the drop are reluctant to sell their homes because when they do, they’ll pay more interest on a new mortgage for the same loan amount.

Hence, a house supply shortage in America has significantly contributed to the rise in home prices. Also, if you bought a house during the pandemic when rates were lower, you’ll have to consider the higher interest rates now if you’re selling, regardless of timing.

Supply and demand play a major role in home prices, which are influenced by time and season. We’ll get to that shortly. First, there are two terms you must know that describe the balance between supply and demand in the housing market.

• Buyer’s Market

A buyer’s market happens when there are more homes for sale than buyers. This surplus in housing inventory gives homebuyers the upper hand in negotiation, leading to lower home prices. During this time, homes tend to stay on the market longer since there are fewer buyers relative to available properties.

• Seller’s Market

A seller’s market is the opposite, with more buyers than homes available. This high demand and low supply gives home sellers the advantage. In this situation, sellers can set higher prices, and homes tend to sell faster. As you can guess, a seller’s market is the best time to list your house for sale.

As earlier stated, time and season influence the housing market to determine whether it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market. Now, let’s explore how these seasonal trends affect the market.

Why Spring and Summer Are Ideal for Selling

Of all four seasons in America, the best season to sell your house is late spring, followed closely by early summer. Summer comes second because many families travel on vacations during the summer break, reducing the number of buyers shopping for homes.

Generally, people begin their home search when the weather starts getting warmer in spring. The longer days during these seasons give potential buyers ample time to look through properties.

In addition, families looking for a home usually want to be settled before the next school year in the fall. So they dedicate the warm days of spring and summer to moving before school begins.

Also, many open houses happen in spring. An open house is an event hosted by a real estate agent or home seller where the property for sale is open for public viewing, to entice prospective buyers.

Houses look more attractive in spring because of the pleasant weather and blooming plants. With a well-maintained garden and fresh paint, your home will create a lasting impression on buyers.

Spring and summer typically create a seller’s market with more buyers. The problem, however, is that more people are aware of the increase in housing demand during this period. This often leads to more sellers in the market, which can quickly balance the demand and supply ratio.

So, it’s more accurate to say that spring and summer are the best seasons to sell your property quickly due to the higher rate of homebuying activity.

The Best Time to Sell A House — Months and Days

You know the best seasons to sell a house, but each season spans a few months. Let’s narrow our choice to the best month and day for home selling.  

ATTOM Data Solutions reports May as the best month to sell a house, with an average premium of 13.1% above market value. (Average premium is the additional amount added to the property’s base price.)

ATTOM also collated data on seller premiums for different months. They compared the median sale prices of homes that closed daily during the research period with their estimated values at the time of sale. See the image below for the sellers’ premiums for each month, starting with those with the highest premiums.

Source: Bankrate

When you analyze the data in the image, it’s clear that May, June, and April are the best months to sell a house.

Moving on, the best day to list your property for sale is Thursday. Many real estate agents plan home tours for the weekend. So, they start looking for house listings towards the end of the week.         

Houses listed earlier in the week don’t perform well because they sit on the listing platform for some days. But fresh listings appear first and stay on the agent’s mind. Also, there’s been research that shows that Thursday listings sell quickly.

The Worst Times to Sell a House

While certain months and seasons boost home sale prices, others can have the opposite effect. Specifically, winter and late fall are the worst seasons to sell a house.

After summer, buyers’ interest begins to slow down in the fall. That’s when the school year typically begins. Because buyers with school-aged kids prefer to be settled, they plan their home search before the fall. Additionally, fall signals the start of the cold season.

Along with the cold weather, winter brings holidays, shorter days, and fewer buyers searching for a home. This leads to a buyer’s market, which is not an ideal time to sell if you want to maximize gains.

Given the worst seasons to sell, you can guess the slowest months for home sales. In the data from ATTOM research above, November has the lowest seller premium, making it the worst month to sell your home.

Other Considerations Beyond Timing

Beyond timing and seasonality, several other factors can influence the best time to sell your home. These include your financial situation, mortgage market conditions, lifestyle changes, emotional preparedness, and potential repair costs. Let’s discuss each factor in detail.

Lifestyle Changes

Lifestyle changes, such as a new job, marriage, divorce, a growing family, or even retirement, can influence when to sell a home. These shifts might create the need for more space, a different location, downsizing, or a fresh start.

These changes prompt a move regardless of market conditions, especially in cases of job changes when you have to work with a timeline. These lifestyle changes can help you decide the best time to sell your house.

Financial Situation

Before deciding to sell your home, assess your financial situation. This includes understanding your current mortgage balance, home equity, and potential profits from the sale.

You should also factor in outstanding debts, closing costs, taxes, and potential home repairs. A strong financial position can give you more flexibility when negotiating sale terms and help you plan for the next phase, whether buying a new home or renting.

If you’re in a tight financial spot, selling may help relieve financial stress, but you must be certain that the sale won’t leave you in a worse position. In this case, it might be worth consulting a financial expert.

Emotional Readiness

It may be hard to let go if you’ve lived in your home for years. So, before selling, you must decide if you’re emotionally ready to part with a space that holds memories or sentimental value.

Also, the selling process can be stressful. If you’re not mentally prepared to handle all the challenges, take more time to decide. Being in a sound state of mind when you make the sale ensures you make decisions best for your future, rather than ones influenced by nostalgia or anxiety.

Mortgage Rates

Earlier in this post, we highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant drop in mortgage rates, spurring more homebuyers into the market. This illustrates how much mortgage rates can impact the housing market.

So as a prospective seller, keep an eye on the mortgage market. If mortgage rates drop again, you can sell your home quickly and take advantage of the lower interest rates when purchasing a new home.

Local Economy

The state of your local economy can also help you determine the best time to sell your home. Selling your home will be profitable in a thriving economy with low unemployment and strong home demand. The reverse is the case in a struggling economy. Rising unemployment and local downturns reduce homebuying activities. Hence, you must understand your local economic conditions to determine the best possible outcome for your sale.

Use resources like the Metropolitan Median Area Prices and Affordability Tracker from the National Association of Realtors to track the state of your local economy for home sales.

Factors that Impact Market Value and Asking Price

We’ve discussed how supply and demand, mortgage interest rates, and economic conditions impact your home’s market value. Let’s look at other factors.

• Location: Properties in the city center or near essential amenities like shopping malls, schools, hospitals, and workplaces seem more expensive than those in less accessible areas.
• Neighborhood Comps: Neighbourhood comps or comparable sales refer to recently sold properties in your area that are similar to the home you’re selling. This data gives you insights into local market trends, helping you determine the value of your home.
• Population Growth: A growing population indicates more need for homes. That’s good news for prospective sellers because more buyers create a seller’s market.
• Environmental Factors: Houses in areas prone to natural disasters like earthquakes and flooding usually have less value than those in safer areas. The environment’s air and water quality influences the houses’ market value.
• The Condition of the House: A well-maintained house with updated features typically commands a higher asking price. Conversely, a home that requires significant repairs will be priced lower to attract buyers

Related: When to Worry about House Not Selling?

How to Maximize Your Home Value Before Sale

To make your house the star of other homes listed for sale, do the following:

1. Improve curb appeal: plant a few flowers, mow your lawn, and keep your yard clean.
2. Deep clean and declutter to create more space.
3. Remodel your kitchen and bathroom to a stylish but functional design to make them more attractive.
4. Add a fresh layer of paint to the interior and exterior of your house to give it a new look.
5. Conduct energy audits and improve the efficiency of your home to lower energy bills.

Final Thoughts

As a physician, timing the sale of your home is crucial because of your busy schedule and financial considerations. If you’ve reached this point in the post, we’re confident you have enough information to determine the right time to sell your house.

However, you should review your financial situation before selling. Physicians Thrive can help you do this and confirm if selling aligns with your financial goals. Ready to start? Contact us now!