Do I need to wait until spring to sell?

We’ve all heard that the best time to sell a house is spring. But that may not be true.

“It’s best to sell your home when you are ready,” says Nick Campo, President of Capital Area Realtors, a Realtors association in Springfield. That means your house has been cleaned and is ready, too, he says. If it is, list it now.

The fall and even the holidays are a great time to sell. “The only thing that goes away through the holiday season are the sellers,” says Campo. “The buyers never go away…I encourage my sellers to stay on the market (through the holidays) because when all the other sellers drop off, it becomes a sellers’ market. There’s less inventory for a buyer to pick from.” During the spring, there’s a flood of sellers and it becomes a buyers’ market, he adds.

There’s one caveat, says Jane Hadden, Assistant Vice President, Mortgage Lender with Town and Country Banks. “The only instance that might make it better to wait until warm weather is if you have a home with a swimming pool or beautiful landscaping and grounds that would show better then.”

Putting your house on the market before spring can also pay more, according to the article, “When is the Best Time to Sell Your House” on realtor.com. “One recent study even found that sellers typically net more above asking price during the months of December, January, February, and March…” it says.

Some experts even recommend listing your home in the winter to beat the spring rush, according to the website.

“Mortgage rates are great now, and that helps,” Hadden says. “Lower rates make buying more affordable. I had a closing yesterday with buyers that didn’t plan to move for a couple of years. They went to an open house, liked what they found, and bought.” 

The key is to sell when you and your home are ready. “Overall the market is fantastic,” Campo says. “If you have a house that’s well-priced, clean, and ready to go, they sell. We still have a lot of good buyers. We still have a low inventory, so we’re looking for some good, ready, clean houses to sell.”