Throughout the country, the best time of year to sell a home is usually considered to be early May. Homes that are listed in late spring and early summer not only tend to sell faster but also at higher prices. Real estate agents usually try to get their listings on the market on a Friday or Saturday between April and June, in order to schedule an open day for that same weekend and maximize the number of buyers who come to see it. Many consider the summer months to be the peak season for real estate, and for good reason.
The uptick in buyers seen by sellers in spring accelerates when the long summer days arrive. The months of May, June and August are the busiest, since those months represent 40% of the annual volume of real estate sales. The zeal to buy a home tends to peak in June, says NAR. While June and July are the best times to sell across the country, they may not be the best times of year to sell in your particular market.
Every city is different, and the best times of the year to sell may change over time. The decline in sellers' premiums usually begins in September, when the average premium falls to 7.5 percent, just over half the peak recorded in May. But even in a more typical market, timing is everything, and this is particularly true when selling a home. More homes have been sold recently, so there's more data sellers can use to make sure their prices are based on what buyers were actually willing to pay for similar homes.
Of course, seasonality isn't the only factor to consider when deciding if the time is right to sell your home. Although June has historically been the month with the highest sales price, April is the month in which most of these home sellers list their homes. To do this, you need to know the pre-existing market trends and the important factors that directly affect the ideal time to sell. While it may seem counterintuitive to have completed renovations or repairs just before selling your home, that work may actually be more beneficial than you think.
However, because people in general are aware of the increase in demand, more and more sellers are deciding to put their homes up for sale during the spring. Nationwide, February is the worst time to sell in terms of sales price and January is the worst month to sell in terms of speed. If you can no longer afford the maintenance costs associated with owning your home, it's a good idea to sell as soon as possible. And this isn't conventional wisdom or instinct, it's an analysis of the seasonal sales patterns of homes in your area based on the month they were first listed for sale on Zillow.
Specifically, late spring, the month of May is the best time to sell a home, with a sales premium of 13.4 percent, according to ATTOM's analysis of single-family home and condo sales over the past 10 years. The worst time of year to sell a home is when demand in the local market is low and the number of homes for sale is high. As you can see from previous trends, people tend to buy homes as it gets hotter, so it usually makes sense to prepare your home in the winter months to sell it in spring.
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