If it were simply a matter of asking “how much is my house worth?” that would make things pretty cut and dry. You’d just put your house up for sale with the appropriate asking price and wait for someone to take the property off your hands. But the truth is that there are a lot of factors that go into determining when the housing market is profitable and when it’s not.
It Depends on Where You Live
Sorry to say, there does not exist one specific golden time when every market is perfect for maximizing profit and minimizing risk. What does exist, however, are several golden times sprinkled throughout the country. Simply put, the best time of year to sell your home depends heavily on what part of the country you call home.
In many areas, the best time to sell is early May, for a few reasons. First, most people have received their tax refunds by this time, meaning they have more funds available. Second, school is usually out at this point, meaning families can move without worrying about it disrupting their children’s education.
Alternatively, in Southern parts of the country like Florida, September and October are better times because they coincide with a period when people in colder climates are highly motivated to move somewhere warmer.
Seasons Affect Your Salability
You don’t have to be selling Florida property to take advantage of shifting weather patterns though. Another big factor to take into consideration is how seasonal change affects things.
Again springtime provides a prime opportunity to sell in many areas, as warmer temperatures make house-hunting easier, blossoming lawns and gardens help improve curb appeal, and more daylight hours makes it simple for you to meet with more potential buyers in a day. That said, in parts of the country where the seasons don’t change all that much, these effects can be far less pronounced or even totally absent.
Additionally, autumn tends to light a fire under buyers who may have been dragging their feet previously, because they know winter is just around the corner. There’s also less competition from other sellers at this time.
Local Events Play a Major Role
Fall isn’t the only time when competition is reduced. And spring isn’t the only time when potential buyers have more funds. When selling a home, the most important thing isn’t to rely solely on common yearly occurrences like tax refunds or longer days. Rather, it’s to pay attention to the market and pair various local events with those reliable yearly occurrences in order to fully optimize your salability.
For instance, one local event that could boost your chances of making a profitable sale is a sudden boom in an area’s economy. Maybe a new business has opened up and it’s brought a bunch of new jobs with it. Conversely, the opposite can have a negative effect. If a major job supplier shuts down, fewer people will have jobs, meaning they’ll have less funds, meaning they won’t be able to afford to buy a new home.
Pay attention to the news and see if your state or county are offering tax incentives for home buyers. Pay attention to the mortgage rates, because when they go down your chances of selling go up. If you’re smart and observant, the best time of year to sell your home can be any time at all, so don’t get too hung up on specific calendar dates.