Why Spring is the Best Time to Sell Your Home

Warmer weather is heading our way, thus waking up deep-slumbering homebuyers who want to hit the market and find their dream home. With the holidays over and growing temperatures that require fewer mittens and winter coats and more light cardigans and dresses, the spring months are often considered a seasonal time of year where the housing market is on fire.

Who wants to view homes in the blistering cold? Spring ushers in more comfortable, milder weather that makes it perfect for buyers who are viewing homes listed for sale or moving into their new homes. In years past, buyers have hit the market in droves during spring months with the intent of beginning the process that will hopefully get them into their dream home by fall. In winter months, the schedules of many buyers can get a little hectic—-along with sellers. Holiday parties, shopping, and family events can often take up the time and spontaneity needed to view a home hours after it hits the market. Or, if you’re a seller, leaving the house for hours on end to allow a full day of showings can become hindering when you have a full schedule of holiday festivities or school events. These aspects combined with the fact that children are in school often leads sellers to briefly take their home off the market and buyers to take a small hiatus from viewing new listings.

You can check out your area’s seasonal sale patterns to get a better idea of when you should list your home, but more often than not you’ll find spring’s warmer months to be in your favor. Analysis shows that the best week for an above-list sale in big cities like Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia, Houston, Washington DC, Atlanta, Boston, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale all come within the months of March, April, and May. In April of 2021, almost half of the homes listed for sale were pending under contract in less than a week, and more than three-quarters were available on the market for less than 30 days. If you’re considering selling your home, make sure to contact a well-qualified real estate agent to discuss what seasonal sale patterns look like in your neighborhood.

With historically low-interest rates, buyers are flocking to the real estate market to capitalize on this moment and find a new home for their families. The sheer number of eligible buyers combined with the low inventory of single-family homes has created a hot market, meaning that sellers have the upper hand in negotiations and pricing since there are more buyers than there are available homes. While spring has always been a period of high demand in real estate, this season is now even hotter when taking into account these latest market trends. With such an aggressive field of buyers and the natural upswing of home sales in the spring months, it’s possible that you may be able to sell your home for more than you thought. Things like buyers paying for the seller’s closing costs and offering more than the listed price are just some of the techniques potential home buyers are using to hold sway in multiple offer situations. This is something you could potentially benefit from when you list your home up for sale, especially when an influx of spring buyers enters an already buyer-saturated market.

One of the most important steps you’ll take as a seller is making sure that your home is aesthetically pleasing to buyers—both in-person and online. When it comes to landscaping, this can become particularly difficult in winter months when melting snow has left your front yard a muddy mess or the plants and grass in your back yard have wilted because of cold temperatures. The milder weather patterns of spring warm up the earth, bringing your bushes and flowers back to life. Trees regain their lush, vibrant leaves, and grass sports the bright green color it once was, making for a beautiful backdrop to your home that will attract buyers. If you’re looking to list your home when Mother Nature is helping you look its best, spring is unquestionably the time to do so. Landscaping at its finest also does wonders in listing photos to help attract buyer interest, as it is the first impression they will get of your home well before they view it. Think about hiring a landscaping company at the start of spring to elevate your home’s curb appeal. If you’re in the Winnetka, IL area, there are plenty of local businesses to choose from. A few great landscapers to consider are The Chalet, Scott Byron and Schmechtig Landscape.

When you have a timeline as to when you’d like to list your old home, you can go ahead and get started on the process of finding a new one. This gives you time to get in touch with a real estate agent and discuss your wants and needs as well as do any updates to the home you’re selling if you choose to do so. Most realtors recommend that sellers start actively looking for a new home while going through the process of selling their old one. If you know that you want to take advantage of the hot market during spring by selling your home, you can begin house-hunting for your new one a few weeks before—-even if you don’t want to make an offer until your old home is under contract.

Everyone knows that moving day can be stressful. A full day of moving boxes and furniture out of the home you’re selling and into your new one when temperatures are uncomfortable can be annoying, to say the least. In the winter, moving can be difficult when snow and ice is in the forecast. Depending on the severity of the winter storm, this could cause major delays in your moving schedule, especially if you are relocating to a different area or state. In the summer months, the sweltering heat can be unbearable depending on where you live. For sellers who want mild weather, spring normally boasts cool temperatures that are much more agreeable for a day full of packing and moving.

There are a couple of things you can do to elevate your chances of having a successful home sale during spring’s hot market surge:

One of the biggest mistakes a seller can make is listing their home way above their pricing parameters. While the market is hot, especially in spring, there are several factors that must be taken into account when pricing a home, including your location. Is your neighborhood in high demand? Do you live in an area with an excellent school system? Are you close to high-paying jobs? These questions, along with your home’s square footage and other features, are just some of the considerations that will be taken into account before pricing your home. Your real estate agent will help you determine your best listing price before heading onto the market.

While it seems silly that there are days that you should list your home over others, it’s actually quite common for certain days of the week to be more popular. Homes listed on a Thursday typically spend less time on the market because of its close proximity to the weekend when buyers’ schedules are likely to open. In 2021, big cities like Chicago and Washington DC saw Thursday as being the best day of the week for a quick sale.

Ready to move this spring? If you live in the Winnetka, IL area or its surrounding neighborhoods, look no further than highly-esteemed real estate agent Karen Stroble to lead you through the experience of selling your home in a smooth and timely manner. While the process of selling can be stressful, it doesn’t have to be. Karen’s extensive market knowledge combined with her negotiation and sales skills will help make this big decision a seamless one.

Read her past clients’ raving testimonials to get a good idea of what your experience will look like, but don’t wait too long to get in touch. The housing market is at an all-time high. If you’re selling but want to stay within the area, Karen can also help you find the new home of your dreams—-and make sure that the buying and selling experience for you is a wonderful one.