The best time to sell a home is almost here

Everyone in the real estate industry knows spring is the season when homes sell like hotcakes, but the window to earn tip-top peak profits is more specific than that—and coming up fast.

A recent report from Zillow found that homes listed in the last two weeks of May fetch 1.6% more money than at any other time of the year, which amounts to an extra $5,600 on a typical US home. Meanwhile, Realtor.com economists argue that optimal conditions arrive a bit earlier, April 13–19. Since most sellers take a month or so to prep their property for market, consider this your kick in the tush to get moving.

This “spring premium” makes sense since warmer weather unleashes hordes of homebuyers, including families eager to settle into new digs before their kids start school in the fall. Johnny Austin of Washington State–based Home Offer Express calls this “peak emotional buying season,” when shoppers “are panicked, desperate to lock in homes before summer, throwing cash around. This is when investors should be pushing their best inventory to the multiple listing service and extracting top dollar.”

Timing a sale for the height of home-shopping fever has paid off for Rich Kaul, a house flipper in Arizona at 702 Cash Buyers. “We aim to complete flips in late winter or early spring so we can hit the market just in time,” he says. “A flip we completed [last year] benefited from this strategy, resulting in multiple offers within days and a final sale price well above our initial projections. For investors, especially fix-and-flippers, timing a sale in mid-April to May can be a game changer.”

The exact right time can vary by area, according to Zillow, hitting as early as the end of March in San Diego or as late as November in Phoenix.

Another wildcard to factor in is interest rates.

“Many investors will wait to see if there is positive news on interest rates,” says Pierre Debbas, managing partner of real estate firm Romer Debbas. If they drop, this “will increase demand on the buyer side and values as well.”

Is the best time to sell a bad time to buy?

On the flip side, of course, the best time to sell is the worst time to buy, plagued by packed open houses and stiff competition. That’s why bargain hunters typically wait until winter.

“The best time to buy is October through January, when most buyers are out of the market, prices dip, and sellers—especially tired landlords or those with distressed properties—are more flexible,” says Austin. “For investors, the true money isn’t made selling at the top; it’s made buying right. The real play is acquisition strategy.”

Realtor.com found that the very best bargains can be found the week of September 29–October 5, when buyers enjoy 30% less competition and save $14,000 compared to peak prices.

Bottom line: Timing isn’t everything, but it’s something. Investors who surf these waves will have market forces at their back.