Although not as frenzied as in past years, the homebuying season has begun in earnest. If you’re a homeowner looking to sell your house, you’d be interested in knowing the ideal time to list it.
A recent report from Realtor.com shows the best time of the year to put your home on the market.
In this article, we’ll explore the perfect time for you to list your home as well as some ways you can help it sell faster.
Here Is the Best Time To List Your Home
According to Realtor.com, on a nationwide basis, the best time to list your home is the week of April 14–20, 2024. With home prices trending about 1.1% higher than the typical week and costing about 10.4% more than they did earlier in the year, home sellers could potentially bring in $7,400 more.
Money expert Clark Howard says although the housing market still faces the one-two punch of high prices and high mortgage rates, many people will be able to take advantage.
“Last year, we basically didn’t have a spring selling season,” he says. “This year, there’s pent-up demand.”
What are some of the housing market conditions that favor April 14-20? The report lists the following:
- Faster sales: Compared to an average week, homes during the second week of April are expected to sell 17%, according to Realtor.com data.
- Relatively lower prices: Home list prices have been trending down over the past two years with a peak of $449,000 in June 2022. In February, the median home list price was $415,500, according to Realtor.com data. Mortgage rates have also receded a bit.
- Ideal moving time: “Spring is a busy season for many reasons. For clients with children, moving will align with summer break when schools are out and the weather is nice,” Bradley Wilson, a real estate agent with Sotheby’s International Realty in New York, tells Realtor.com. “Additionally, the end of tax season makes the loan approval process smoother.”
5 Tips on How To Sell Your Home Fast
Knowing when to sell is only half the battle related to listing your home. Now, let’s go over some ways you can get your home sold faster:
1. Make Sure the Price Is Right
Overpricing your home is a sure way to dry up any potential interest from buyers looking for value in the market. The key is to stay price-competitive, but also profitable.
“You need to be careful how you price,” Clark says. “If you do overprice upfront, you’ll ultimately have your home go stale in the market,” Clark says. “And you end up with a total net sale for less than if you price more realistically upfront.”
2. Increase Your Home’s Curb Appeal
“The curb appeal stuff matters again,” Clark says, comparing how today’s housing market is different from recent ones. “So your house needs to look good from the street again. It can’t look like a terrible fixer-upper if you’re going to try to get as much money from your home as possible.”
To boost your home’s curb appeal, pay particular attention to:
- Lawncare, including cutting back shrubbery and removing any wood debris or limbs
- Cosmetic repairs (replacing rotted wood, missing shingles, older/discolored light fixtures)
- Peeling paint or fading stain on your home’s exterior
While going the do-it-yourself route, as Clark once did, can save money, you may be able to find an affordable professional contractor online.
Read up on some cheap ways to improve your home’s curb appeal.
3. Make Sure Your Listing Has High-Quality Photos
You want your home to come across literally in the best light it can. Ensuring that your listing is filled with high-quality photos is a must.
According to the National Association of Realtors, more than 90% of home buyers search for homes online, and 85% of them have acknowledged photos are the #1 factor in deciding to view a listing.
4. Get Your Home Staged
You want to make the first impression be the best one when showing your home. One way to do that is to hire a professional home stager to make sure your dwelling looks attractive and that its spaces are maximized.
Staging companies expertly arrange your furniture and decor to make sure it stands out – and attracts potential offers.
“Staging a home pays such dividends because people only buy what they see,” Clark says.
5. Consider a Home-Buying Company, But With Caution
To sell really quickly, many people opt to sell to a home-buying company, but Clark wants you to proceed with caution.
“Offers you’re going to get now from people who say, ‘We’ll buy any house,’ they’re going to be at meaningful discounts. So you have to have a specialized circumstance where you need the certainty,” Clark says.
“Are they legitimate offers? Almost always yes. Are they going to be good prices for your home? Not necessarily,” he says.
Read about Clark’s experience selling a home through an iBuyer.
Final Thoughts
The second week in April is the best time to list your home this year, according to Realtor.com, but remember to put the tips on how to make your home more sellable into practice as well.
Clark says while the big headlines will be focused on people selling their homes, “the real game is going to be new homes, and what is the lure that new home builders are offering in the market.” Read Clark’s housing market predictions.
