If you are considering selling your home, it’s important to know what is the perfect time of year is for a sale. Here at Better Estimate we’ve compiled information about the best time to sell a house.
The decision to sell one’s home is a major life-changing event. It is important to consider the key factors that determine when it will be time for you to sell your house. These factors include whether you are currently in need of more room, if the market value of your property has increased significantly due to recent development or renovation, or if there are other reasons why you would like to move elsewhere. The information in this article will help you better understand what these key factors mean and how they affect your decision on when to sell your home.
What are the key factors that determine the perfect time to sell your house
When you are ready to sell your house, it will be important to determine the current market value of your property. One major factor that may affect this is having recently completed renovation or development projects on your property. If you have spent a significant amount of money modifying your home, this can cause the overall value of your property to increase substantially. In some cases, however, these types of renovations and developments can also reduce or completely eliminate your home’s resale value. In addition, if there has been an improvement in the supply of similar homes in the area since you purchased yours, this may lead to a reduction in its market value by comparison.
For these reasons, experts recommend that homeowners allow enough time for new properties to develop within their neighborhood. They should also consider the possible effects of renovation or modification before deciding to make them. The following are a few other reasons why it may be advantageous for homeowners to sell their properties during the winter months:
Best Season To Sell a House
Most realtors agree that the best time of year to sell a house is from late fall to early spring. This is because there are fewer buyers who want to purchase their winter homes, and most families do not move during the cold months. In fact, in some areas, this period may be the only time when a new buyer can view a desired property without having to compete with other interested parties.
Selling Your House in Spring
Spring brings with it new beginnings, which can be uplifting for homeowners who are considering selling their property. The warmer weather means many people will be more inclined to spend time outdoors, and this could lead to an increase in foot traffic through your neighborhood. So if you’re looking for the perfect opportunity to move out of that home that’s been on the market since last fall, then now may be just what you need!When it comes to selling your house by owner, the timing of your sale is important. While you may think that springtime is the best time to sell a house, this might not always be the case. As opposed to many people’s intuition, there are actually better times of year than others for housing sales.
For example, did you know that more homes will get their asking price in January than any other month of the year? The average listing price of homes at sale during January was $193,300 while September was only $183,900 on average according to Better Estimate insights.
Selling Your House in Winter Season
Winter homes tend to have fewer problems compared to those that are sold during the summer season. If you want your prospective buyer to have as few possible problems as possible, then it is recommended that you try to sell your property during this time. Winter homes also tend not to attract termites, and they don’t require urgent repairs and maintenance unlike those that owners bring up in the spring and summer seasons.
There will always be more buyers looking to purchase homes during cold weather than there will be when the temperature starts rising again so spring thaw begins.
The greatest advantage that comes with selling your home in the winter season is that you have more time on your hands compared to other seasons. You will also enjoy lower levels of traffic on roads and sidewalks at this time of year so it.
Selling Your Property in Late Autumn is a Bad Choice
Since late autumn is the slowest time of year for real estate activity, it allows for homes to sit on market a bit longer and gives you more opportunity to negotiate with buyers. A cold snap or snowstorm in the forecast may make the buyer feel like they need to move quickly, thus allowing you to get your asking price.
If you’re really looking for that good deal though, wait until springtime! According to Redfin’s report last year, listed homes got higher than their asking prices 54% of the time during this month while only 31% of listings did so in March. The average listing price at sale during this month was $180,200 which is less than September but higher than January.
If you’re planning to list your home for sale sometime between March through May or June through August, be aware of these potential challenges:
- Potential for multiple offers or bidding wars due to fewer listings available during this time of year; and,
- Potential overpricing which could lead buyers to make lower-than-expected offers; and,
- Excessive days on market if priced too high.
So when should I sell my house?
Regardless of the state of the housing market, everyone has a question on their mind. “When should I sell my house?”
The answer to this question is different for every homeowner : the cost of living, housing market conditions and how long you plan on staying in the house are all important considerations. Is now a good time for you? There are some key factors that will help you decide when it’s time to: move on and put your house on the market.
We’ll break down the key circumstances that will help you determine when to sell your home:
If you need to move because of a job relocation
As we mentioned before, housing prices are heavily influenced by economic conditions. Are you’re planning to relocate for work and expect your new salary to increase or at least remain stable? Then it’s worth timing your relocation with a strong housing market so that the value of your house doesn’t take too big of a hit. According to real estate data company Zillow, 2014 had some of the strongest home appreciation rates in recent years , with some cities seeing over 10% increases year-over-year.
If you’re moving for any other reason.
Sometimes people just want to move – whether it’s to be closer to family, friends, their partner’s job, or even because the house is too big for just one person. If that sounds like your situation , then improvements in the market will help offset whatever decline occurs on your property value.
But if you don’t need to move anytime soon, timing might not make much of a difference. On average, homes appreciate about 3% per year regardless of fluctuations in the housing market. Even during years where prices drop significantly (like they did 2008), housing values tend to climb back up within 5 years , barring any economic catastrophes like the Great Depression1.
When the market is favorable for sellers
- When you’re ready to move on and get a new place
- If your home has been sitting on the market for an extended period of time with no offers
- When there are major changes happening in your neighborhood, such as schools being closed or new developments coming up
- If you’ve made major improvements to your house that will make it more attractive to buyersTo get a better idea of whether or not the housing market in your area is on the upswing, you can check out this article we wrote about using Google Trends to determine when it might be a good time to sell.
- If your home is severely undervalued. On the other hand, if the value of your house has decreased and you’re planning to move soon anyway, selling during a down market could help ensure that the purchase price of another house gets adjusted accordingly.
- When interest rates are low
Selling during a low point in the real estate cycle also means that you may be able to lock in an attractive mortgage rate before they rise again . Consumer finance expert Liz Weston
When should you start preparing for a sale?
In my opinion, the best time to sell a house is as soon as possible. When I purchased my first home I had a choice, either buy it or rent a house for a year or two and then purchase.I purchased immediately because you never know when the market will pick up – they way it has been going in London lately I would have missed my chance of buying at the lower prices.
You may need to wait months depending on how quickly your property sells but even if you accept an offer near your asking price it’s money well spent. In addition to gaining equity from any increase in value between your purchase and sale date you could save thousands of pounds by taking advantage of falling interest rates.
Common Mistakes People Make when Deciding to sell their homes
1) Forgetting to clean the house before staging.
2) Listing your home too high.
3) Not preparing for showings. 4) Waiting until you find out how much it costs to sell your home to start looking for one. 5) Thinking that “location” is everything when deciding where to buy a new home. 6) Using an agent who will not let you see other homes in person or over the internet without paying them first
7). Buying a new property sight unseen because I want it now, but then regretting my decision later on because of its location or other factors that were not taken into consideration during the purchasing process.
