Last year, spring home sellers who put their house up for sale in the second half of May were able to get the most money for it. Homes listed in the final two weeks of May sold for 1.6% more, or $5,600 more than the average U.S. home, according to a recent Zillow report.
As buyers become serious about property looking before their summer vacation and the start of the new school year in the fall, search traffic usually peaks before Memorial Day. Sellers can list their house when the most buyers are seeking by focusing on late spring. Sellers might demand a greater price when there is competition among buyers for property.
Per the report…one important warning: There is no guarantee that the spring home-buying season will behave similarly to last year. The housing market is experiencing its own seasonality due to fluctuating mortgage rates and a constantly limited inventory.
“In the past few years, mortgage rate fluctuations upended the traditional spring home shopping season,” said Orphe Divounguy, Senior Economist at Zillow. “Buyers who are on the edge of qualifying for a loan jump in and out of the market depending on what’s happening with rates. When rates fall, more buyers rush in, putting upward pressure on prices, which could happen at any time of year.”
Since they started to rise quickly three years ago, mortgage rates have had an effect on affordability and sale prices. When they marketed their home in late March of 2022, just before rates smashed through 5% and proceeded to rise, sellers throughout the country experienced the biggest sale premium.
Since many buyers had waited out the previous months in the hopes that rates would drop, sellers were able to command the highest prices in early June of the following year. Pre-pandemic seasonal averages were restored last year, with May seeing the highest premiums.
In actuality, the majority of sellers do not enjoy the luxury of waiting for the ideal week and month to sell. Regardless of timing, sellers can still use various seller tactics to connect with as many customers as possible, per Zillow.
To read the full report, click here.
