What is the best month to sell a house?

Nationally, the best time to sell a home is March if you're trying to sell quickly, while the best time to maximize profits is July. Zillow recommends listing your home in March, but not later than Labor Day, based on historical market trends. The spring months are often considered the best month to sell a home. In fact, across the country, the first two weeks of May are often the busiest and most lucrative time for sellers.

Many consider the summer months to be peak real estate season, and for good reason. The uptick in buyers seen by sellers in spring changes in full swing when the long days of summer arrive. The months of May, June and August are the busiest, since those months represent 40% of the annual volume of real estate sales. Fervor to buy a home tends to peak in June, says NAR In most areas, the best time of year to sell a home is during the first two weeks of May.

You can expect to sell 18.5 days faster than any other month and for 5.9 percent more money. Elsewhere, early April or June is better for home sales than in May. There are pros and cons to selling spring homes. Although June and July are the best times to sell across the country, they may not be the best times of the year to sell in your particular market.

Determining the “right time to sell your home” is subjective, as it really depends on your specific goals and circumstances. Nationally, February is the worst time to sell in terms of sales price, and January is the worst month to sell in terms of speed. We buy homes on Long Island and have helped hundreds of homeowners sell their homes across Nassau County, Suffolk County, Queens and Brooklyn, New York. The day of the week you list a home for sale can also have a significant impact on how quickly a home sells.

If your reason for selling is relatively flexible, for example, if you are looking for a larger home or a more convenient neighborhood, it might be worth trying to schedule your sale; however, it's not worth missing out on peak market conditions, such as a great job opportunity or postponing an important life goal, such as retirement. However, just as you wouldn't want to sell a house in upstate New York in the middle of winter, it's also best to avoid selling homes in hot places during the summer months. Before considering the pros and cons of selling during each season, research what is the best time of year to sell a home in your region. Either way, if you understand the pros and cons of selling in winter, it might be the best time of year to sell you a home.

We spoke to lead agent McCoy, who maintains an impressive history of home sales, to find out how different seasons affect the sales process.

Norma Messick
Norma Messick

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