As you prepare to consider putting your house up on the market, you’re probably wondering if it’s the right time. While the exact perfect moment is difficult to define, a suggestion exists that some times of the year are better for putting the house up for sale than others.
Considerations
Before you take seasonal sale information as solid proof, you need to consider where you actually live. You’ll soon see that the spring is the most popular time for houses to be sold, but this can be different if you live in a place where it is warm all year round. Weather does influence peoples’ desires to be outdoors and to search for a new place to live. Furthermore, you may live in an area that has a modified school schedule. The school calendar also plays a role in the best season to sell a house, so always keep these types of elements in mind.
Spring Into Action
The Huffington Post’s article “The Best Time to Sell a House” lists spring as the definitive answer. Christina Anderson, the author, notes that, “June is the top month for the number of contracts signed which means the properties were most likely listed in May. In fact, June sees 90 percent more sales than December.” If you want to put your house up for sale and live in an area that has nice spring weather, then this is the time of the year when you should get started on that task.
Weather and House Hunting
While you know that you certainly like to be outside when the spring comes around each year, you might not recognize what this has to do with house shopping. We talked with Roche Realty Group, and they said, “As the mid and late spring weather arrives, people do not feel as though they want to stay nice and warm in their houses anymore. Also, it gives them a chance to check out the curb appeal of the property. Getting a feel for how the house will look during all of those summer barbecues is difficult when there’s snow on the ground and no leaves on the trees.”
Outdoor Features
This information is particularly relevant for a house that has a lot of outdoor features to show off. For example, looking at a covered pool in the middle of winter is much different than seeing it in full swing during the summer. People who have dedicated much time to planting beautiful flowers or a vegetable garden also want to be able to give prospective buyers a taste of what the property has to offer.
The School Calendar
School plays a tremendous role in home sales, and this is explored in Forbes’ article “5 Ways to Pick the Perfect Time to Sell.” When parents are not dealing with the stress of sending their kids back to school, they have more time to look at houses. Also, if they start to shop then, the hope is that they will have moved by the time September comes around. This means that their children will not have to change school districts in the middle of the year if the family is moving out-of-town.
Vacations and Holidays
Throughout the year, people go on different vacations, and they celebrate an array of holidays. However, the spring months do not have as many holidays right after one another as do the late fall and early winter months. Also, parents are often hesitant to pull their children out of school so close to the end of the year. Furthermore, when people are not going on a vacation in the near future, they are often not as concerned about the budget. They have a little bit extra money to spend on the house of their dreams.
Whether you want to market your house to couples who love the outdoors or families in search of an excellent school district, the warmer months are generally the best time to put a house up for sale.
