In your current home town, you’ve been bouncing around from job to job for a while. You would like to find something more stable, but that would involve moving to a location where your area of expertise is more in demand.
If that’s the only choice you have though, that’s your only choice. It’s time to put your home up on the market and move on to the next stage of your life. We’re here to say that your timing is everything.
What are the best months for selling a house? Check out this guide to find out when you should put your place up on the market.
How Long Does It Take to List?
Before you start considering months, it’s important to figure out how long to sell a house. You don’t want to be dead set on listing in the spring, only to have to push it to the summer because you didn’t get your timing right.
You need at least two months of prep. This will give you a big enough window to take pictures of your house, get on the phone with a real estate agent, and start getting a few offers for your lovely home.
Spring
Depending on the weather in your area, spring is most likely the best time of year to sell a house. More specifically, April-May is a good time frame to look at.
It’s around this time that people get their tax returns. This means they have money to put toward a down payment and any renovations the house may need.
Since the weather is nicer in the spring, people will be more motivated to schedule a time to look for homes. All the blooming flora will make the outside of your house look awesome. School is also ending around this time, so parents aren’t forced to uproot their kids in the middle of a semester.
There are a few cons to listing in the spring. For one, if your area sees a lot of April showers, nobody is going to want to go house shopping.
Since it’s the best time to sell a house, the competition is going to be strong. With spring comes graduation parties too. That might make it harder for people to find parking to tour your house.
Summer
If you don’t quite make it onto the housing market in the spring, that’s okay. You always have the summer. There’s more sunlight to burn during this time of year, so you can squeeze in more tours than normal.
Buyers want to get settled into a new home before the school year starts back if they have kids. They don’t have a large window for that, which means they’ll be pretty eager. They may even make you a better offer to try and speed things along.
The weather during the summer is nice, but it’s hot. Some would prefer to stay shut inside their own homes where there’s AC. Like in the spring, the real estate market is super competitive.
Summertime is peak vacation hours. Many people who would have bought at a house might opt out so they have more spending money. They also don’t have a lot of time to look at houses if they are out with their families.
Fall
Fall is a hit or miss for most home sellers. On the one hand, changing colors might give you a nice boost of curb appeal. On the other hand, not many people are buying this time of year. That’s not always a bad thing, though.
It means that you won’t have as much competition when you’re trying to sell your house. The people who couldn’t get a home during the busy months will be eager to close on a place before the holidays roll around.
If you need to fix up your home before you sell it, house selling tips dictate that this is the best time for that. Since the busy season is at its end, professionals will have plenty of slots to make repairs and renovations. This means the overall price for your job won’t be quite as high either.
Buyers will be desperate to close in on the home, but not so desperate that they won’t be a little demanding given the lack of competition. With the fall comes rain and sometimes snow. People don’t want to go out in the nasty weather to go house shopping.
Not every seller has the advantage of having trees covered in beautiful leaves. Bare trees and dead foliage won’t do much for your curb appeal. You’ll have to do a lot more landscaping work to keep your yard looking good.
Winter
Most sellers avoid putting their homes on the market in the winter. The cold weather tends to keep buyers away. Snow-covered yards are hard to see.
People won’t want to go forward with the purchase if they can’t get a good look at the landscape. If you live in an area where it’s hot during the winter, your competition will skyrocket.
With the holidays in full swing, it’s hard to upkeep your home for tours. Things are just too hectic. Moving is also harder on families financially during this time of year.
On the upside, people who are looking at your home will want to hurry along with the process before the end of the year. They want to take advantage of those sweet, sweet tax breaks.
Real estate agents who are trying to make as many sales as possible before the year ends will be extra motivated to help you. You also have more staging opportunities if you’re selling around Christmas.
Best Months for Selling a House as Fast as Possible
Do you have a home that you’re trying to sell? You might have more luck depending on the time of year that you put it on the market. What are the best months for selling a house?
That all depends on the area where you live. We hope that you’re able to use the information that you read here today to sell your place as fast as possible.
Once you sell your house and move into a new one, you’ll have to set to work making it feel like your own. Check out the Home Decor section of our blog daily for decoration tips.
