Determining the right time of year to sell your home is a tricky prospect for would-be sellers, and getting it right could influence the final sale price significantly, according to Zillow. Now the Seattle real estate media company is providing a new tool, called Best Time to List, and revealing the ideal timeframe for the country’s 25 biggest metro areas.
According to Zillow, local market variations and weather patterns can affect the buying season, but new analysis suggests homes sold in late spring (May 1-May 15), sell around 18.5 days faster and for 1 percent, or $1,700, more than the average listing.
San Francisco, with a median sold price of $1.15 million, boasts a $12,200 premium for sellers who get the window right (May 16-31). In Seattle, where weather is a factor throughout much of the year, houses moved 20 days faster than average if sold in the May 1-15 timeframe.
Low inventory is heavily influencing the market today, according to Dr. Svenja Gudell, Zillow’s chief economist.
“Faced with increasingly competitive markets, many buyers are forced to consider several homes and make multiple offers, elongating the home shopping experience,” Gudell said in a news release. “By listing homes further into the shopping season, sellers may attract buyers who are increasingly eager to purchase and may be more willing to pay a premium for the home.”
Best Time to List estimates how much more money a seller can make by changing the listing date on their individual home. According to Zillow Blog, the tool is live for 71 million off-market homes, and registered Zillow users can find it by clicking the “Sell Your Home” on the home details page for an individual home.
