The Best Time To Sell Your Home Is Just Around The Corner

You may hear about seasonality in real estate all the time, but it is difficult to appreciate how greatly it affects home sales and pricing. So, we took a look back to 2015 to see if we could identify some trends in the marketplace. 

We tracked the Price to List Ratio - which is the percentage discount off of the listing price - on a monthly basis in the 5 largest MSAs (Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Philadelphia) and the US as a whole, to see if sales prices were closer to their asking price at any point in the year.

What we found was that in almost all of the largest US markets, sellers received nearly 3% greater premium in the Summer months than they did in Winter (see below). 

Keep in mind that New York trailed in seasonal highs by around one month (attributed to the length of time properties remained on market - nearly 112).

Pricing Impact

By taking advantage of market timing (based on market averages and 3% increased pricing accuracy in the Spring/Summer versus the Winter) you would expect the difference in a final sale price of nearly:

New York - $11,673

Los Angeles - $18,810

Chicago - $6,690

Dallas - $7,608

Philadelphia - $6,135

Price to List Ratio of the 5 largest MSAs and the US - Monthly

How to time the market:

If selling your home is part of your 2019 gameplan, you should start thinking about how you're going to have the most succesful path to action, now.

Luckily, we did a little bit of the math for you and even provided a countdown timer, so you can't miss this one.

If properties remain on the market for an average of 72 days before they close, your ideal listing date is right around March 21st. Which means, if you really want to time the market, you should be starting the interview process in February.

Don't miss your window. 

Find out how you can start your sale with Scout, today.