When is the best time of year to put your house on the market?
February? Maybe June?
Let’s dig into the data to find out.
There are many different ways to look at this question, but in this post, I want to understand at what time of year sellers get the most money for their homes while also generating the most amount of interest from buyers.
When do sellers get the most money for their homes?
Let’s start by looking at the sale-to-list price ratio. This graph shows how much a house sold for compared to how much it was listed for.
In 2022 and 2023, this ratio was the highest in May. On average, homes that closed in May sold for 4-5% over their asking price.
May is when those houses closed. We need to know when they went on the market.
To figure that out, I looked at the average amount of time between contract and closing, which was right around 50 days. The average time from listing to closing was 5 days. This means that on average, the homes that closed in May were listed in March and April.
What time of year generates the most interest from buyers?
Next, let’s take a look at the buyer activity throughout the year.
This chart shows the average number of showings per listing. In both 2022 and 2023, March and April had the most number of showings for each listing which is a great measure of the overall buyer activity.
When is the best time to sell your home on Chicago’s North Shore?
So, when should you put your home on the market? I think it’s safe to say that listing in March or April is a great way to capture the most number of showings and the highest sale-to-list price ratio.
One quick note - do not list your house the week of spring break. Many people are out of town and you will limit the number of buyers that can see your home.
I also want to note that this is all based on averages and large sample sets of data. Your situation and individual timing needs are very important. It does not mean that if you list your home in February or May, you won’t get a great outcome.
Regardless, if you want to sell your home this spring, now is the time to start preparing. Feel free to reach out. We’d be happy to help!
Check out the video version of this blog below.
