When is the best time to sell: Spring, Summer, Winter, or Fall and why (sale, price)

[selhars]

What are your experiences selling or buying at different times of the year?

[lauradrops]

We found it was best to list in early spring because we lived in a top school district. People looking to move to our area generally had kids and wanted them to finish the school year where they were, but be ready to start the new year in the new house.

[MikeJaquish]

It really depends on your local market.

Buyers and sellers here follow similar bell curves.
I.e., when there is more inventory, there are more buyers. So we have competition all year. I don't think we have a bad time to sell or buy, as long as you aren't expecting a ton of showings on holiday weekends..

[Jkgourmet]

Very dependent on local market, in my limited opinion.

When we lived in Phoenix, if you had a home that would be of interest to snowbirds, you were smart to list between January and March when the snowbirds were in town. Same thing applies in florida, with slightly different months. A house listed in Sun City on July 1 is likely to sit for a while.

I would imagine that listing a house in a heavy snow area in January isn't the best idea, either.

[thinkalot]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

Very dependent on local market, in my limited opinion.

When we lived in Phoenix, if you had a home that would be of interest to snowbirds, you were smart to list between January and March when the snowbirds were in town. Same thing applies in florida, with slightly different months. A house listed in Sun City on July 1 is likely to sit for a while.

I would imagine that listing a house in a heavy snow area in January isn't the best idea, either.

Sun City homes go quick now. The time of year doesn't matter. Many reasonably priced homes sell on the first day even in July.

[BostonMike7]

Here in MA, spring seems to be the best part. Winters tend to be long, and cold. Hard to sell a house with snow all over it and the property hiding things.


People tend to shop in the spring/summer and try and get settled before sept so the kids can start school.

[68551]

As I used to tell my clients....In spring and summer you will be among many who have their homes for sale, you will have more showings but early in the spring buyers tend to want to see everything out there before they make a decision hence many showings with less interest. In fall and winter there are less buyers BUT MORE SERIOUS BUYERS. Not many people are going to be house hunting when everyone else is hitting the stores Christmas shopping.


If you have an average home there is no "good" time to put it on the market. If you have a home with seasonal features such as a swimming pool or beautiful deck or garden you would be better off in spring and summer...


I used to get many relocation buyers who came in to town on a whirlwind weekend who really wanted to go home knowing they had made a deal on a home....So you can nab those buyers when there is less competition from other sellers. In spring and summer you better have your home in optimal condition if you want a sale because buyers have so many choices to pick from

[ea1420]

Where I live it's anytime between March and November. May and June are the months with the lowest DOM, but there isn't a huge amount of difference in average DOM in June as there is say in October here. The only months that see things really slowing down are December, January, and February.

But, as others have noted it's all market dependent. I live in a seller's market. Average DOM for August was 47 (versus 46 for June). In February of this year it was 71 (the highest DOM this year), so there isn't a huge amount of difference.

And, I think it's mostly an inventory thing, as there is only 40% of the inventory available in February compared to June. And I sold and bought this spring, and what I found was that because inventory is so low here, that I needed to buy when the inventory was at it's highest because so few move in condition homes seemed to come onto the market.

[LifeIsGood01]

IN south Florida Fall to Winter is the best time. We also have homestead exemption that had to be applied for before March 1st.

IN other areas where there is cold and snow Winter would be the worst and Spring the best so that you can close when the kids are out of school for the year.

[JohnZ963]

Here in PA it is late spring or summer because people with kids tend to want to be situated in their new home prior to the school year starting. The worst time is December through February. The market is dead. Many people whose home didn't sell by December will take it off the market until mid March or April.

Buyers will really try to beat sellers hard in the winter for a bargain since the sellers have few alternate buyers or offers.