What Is the Best Time of Year To Sell My Home?

By Kandie Frederick

Growing up on the central coast, Kandie is a third generation family in the North County and a second generation family in real estate. Joining Country Real Estate in 2000, and graduating from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, she brings a background of Agricultural Business to combine with her knowledge of the local real estate market. Working with her family and their decades of local real estate development, she is deeply connected to the roots of our community and its growth.

As a real estate agent, one of the most common questions I get from potential home sellers is, “Whenis the best time of year to sell my home?”

The truth is that the best time to sell is when you need to move; however, if you’re determined to try and time the market, the best time to sell is when you have the least amount of competition. In most markets, that means selling in early spring. After this period, inventory increases rapidly, and you’ll have to compete with tons of other homeowners. Our area stays in fairly high demand all year, but the goal is to hit the optimal selling window. That’s why I’m sharing three tips to help you sell your home at the best time of year and get the best deal:

1. Plan early. The more time you give yourself to plan out your home sale, the better. Getting your home ready for the market might involve a lot more work than you thought of beforehand, so don’t procrastinate. I recommend giving yourself a three to four month headstart before you list, for things like pre-listing consultations, staging, pre-listing inspections, repairs, decluttering, and more.

2. Budget your time. Priced competitively, your home can move quickly. Higher price points, unique properties, or needing repairs, may need a specific buyer, and can sometimes take 60 to 120 days to sell. Many homeowners still have a mentality leftover from the pandemic market, when any home would sell in the first week. Now, buyers are more skeptical and have more homes to choose from.

That’s why I recommend working with your agent to plan out what you need to do to hit the optimal selling window. Once you have a schedule, it will be easier to budget your time and sell at the perfect moment.

3. Beat your competition to the market. If you have a choice between listing earlier or later, list earlier. Once the spring frenzy hits, supply increases exponentially each month. All those sellers are competition that will make it harder for you to get the best deal possible, so try your best to beat them to the market. It’s tempting to wait for prices to increase as demand picks up, but this isn’t a good strategy. By the time you enter the market, you’ll be chasing a wave of demand that has already passed. Instead, get ahead of things by listing as early as you reasonably can.

If you want to sell this spring and get the best deal possible, your first step should be to have a pre-listing meeting. Call or email me, and we’ll go over your situation, your goals, the market, and more. It’s 100% free and no obligation. I look forward to hearing from you!