When is the best time to sell a house?

Waiting a month or two could mean a windfall or the loss of tens of thousands of dollars, so it comes as no surprise that the question I am asked most frequently after, “How much can I get for my home?” is “When is the best time for us to sell?”.

The short answer is during the seller’s market. That is when supply is short and prospective homeowners are clamouring to get their foot in the door of their first home, or the home of their dreams.

Predicting a sellers' market is a bit of a gamble. Who knows exactly when the public will move in large numbers to purchase property and there will not be enough supply out there to meet that demand? There are, however, a few rules of thumb that can be used as a guide to help you get the most for your house.

When the mercury begins to rise here in Queensland, the temperature of the property market tends to go in the opposite direction. Potential buyers are busy preparing for the holidays rather than riding up and down crowded streets looking at homes. It is also the wettest period for the state, which means you may lose a few viewing days to some unfortunate downpours.

As a result, the amount of listed properties drops and customers looking to buy around this time of year are not presented with many choices. This may be good for a seller for several reasons, but prime among them is the fact that fewer listings mean less competition.

Your home will stand out more in the market and motivated buyers, whose newly approved home loans are burning a hole in their pocket, may be more eager to negotiate than when they are not spoilt for choice.

If your home features a split or ducted unit, remember to highlight it. Consider cooling the house before the viewing to make it more inviting and to drive home the advantage of having a house here in the Sunshine State with these items already built-in.

In my experience, autumn tends to be the most favourable time of year to sell, with March being the best month for sales overall. With the holiday glow wearing off, folks are eager to get back to reality and start planning for the future. These months can be the sweet spot on the calendar for sellers. There isn’t a glut of properties on the market, so more people are willing to brave the streets in the cooler weather going from viewing to viewing.

It may be a good idea to put your home on the market if your property features an impressive garden. It will be your last chance to show it off before winter dulls the vibrancy of the fauna. While a little busier than the summer months, this period of the year still has less competition on the property listings than say spring, when sellers crowd the market. Buyers will be less distracted and more motivated, which means that you will get serious offers.

Winters are not as harsh in Queensland as they are in our sister states to the South, but it is a drab time of year. Gardens tend not to be as showy, and it's dark in the after-work hours when most people will have time to do viewings. As such, homes won't present at their best against the heavy grey winter sky.

Winter isn’t a total write off, however. There are some advantages to listing your home during the lowest listing period of the year. If competition isn’t stiff in summer and autumn, it is definitely low between June and August.

Although there doesn’t tend to be many of them around, this is the season of the very motivated buyer. You are also more likely to get a fast sale in winter as opposed to the other seasons. You may just have to work harder than usual to make your home look even more appealing than it already is. If you have cosy features like a fireplace in your home, it may be a good idea to light it and give your potential buyers visions of warm evenings lit by logs crackling on the fire.

This is the busiest period of the year for the market. There are more homes on the market in spring and more persons looking to buy. While an increase in the number of buyers is a good thing, you have to consider that a quick sale may not be realistic during this time. With more homes for sale, there is more incentive for buyers to play the field and weigh options. They will expect you to be more flexible with your asking price as the high supply will give them more opportunities to compare prices. Expectations for sellers to cut a deal will be high, so if you find that you may not be willing or able to adjust your asking price you may want to sit this period out or be satisfied with a slow sale.

Like I mentioned before, these are rules of thumb, not guarantees. There is an argument to be made for putting your home up for sale at almost any time of year and you can’t lean on the calendar alone. Remember to highlight the best aspects of your home, set a competitive price based on comparable homes on the market and manage your expectations.

At the end of the day, hiring an experienced real estate agent could offer you the best chance of getting the best price for the biggest investment in your life thus far. Feel free to reach out to me at Sparrow Real Estate to discuss how I can help you reach your goals