Though the phrase may say otherwise, real estate is not just about location, location, location. Real estate, importantly, is also about timing. While a property owner can do nothing about changing the existing location of their house, they can make adjustments to sell it at a different time of the year, or in their life, so that the market is more favourable to them.
Although there is no bad time to list your home for sale, based on my personal experience and research, the best month to sell a house is May. After what seemed like a never-ending winter, temperatures are finally starting to rise across the county and, if you start preparing your home for sale now, it can be ready for market in May. Zillow.com has also reported that if you want to maximize your sale price and sell in the least amount of time, you should aim to have your house on the market in the first half of May.
It is fair to wonder how big the payoff actually is when selling a house at a specific time of the year. Zillow.com reports that sellers in May can hope to get several thousand dollars more than if they had listed their property at a different time of the year. Additionally, it will also spend two fewer weeks on the market than if it had been listed in the winter months. Remember, that these are estimates and actual results can have a wide variance.
If you are seeking to get extra brownie points when selling a house, aim to list your home on a Wednesday or Thursday. This works well in a large city such as Toronto because the agents are used to attending Agent’s Open Houses to preview homes they think would be appropriate for their clients. Once they have previewed the home they can book a showing for their buyers, or send them to the weekend open house. Weekend open houses also attract a lot of local traffic, presenting the home to people who have family or friends who want to move to the same area.
One of the main variables that affects the trends of real estate markets is the weather. In colder, wetter periods of time there will be a decrease in property sales. People do not like venturing out in poor driving conditions, and yards look much more lush and appealing in warm months as opposed to winter when they are barren, slushy or covered in snow. Therefore, while in general May is the best month to sell a house in Canada, be aware that if there is a week-long rainy spell, it may still impact on the desirability of your home.
Another interesting item of note is that the return of spring weather provides home inspectors with a better idea of what state the home is in. Snow is melting from yards and eavestroughs, exposing more of the property and allowing home inspectors to better vouch for the structural integrity of a home when it is time to do so.
While the physical location of a house cannot change, you can take control of certain aspects of its sale, such as when it goes on the market. If you think this May will be the best month to sell your house, I would love to hear from you and let’s get started!
