Selling a home in May, June, or July brings premiums of 10% or more above market value, according to a new analysis by ATTOM Data Solutions.
ATTOM looked at home sales over the past eleven years to determine the best month to sell a home. It found that spring and summer are the most popular times for homebuying, giving sellers the best opportunity to make money on their homes.
“April showers may bring May flowers, but May brings home sellers the best opportunities to watch their profits grow,” said Rick Sharga, Executive Vice President of Market Intelligence at ATTOM.
“Homeowners looking to maximize the price premium they can claim on their homes should sell their properties in May, June, and July when buying activity is at its peak.”
May alone claims 15 of the best days in the year to sell, while the data on the month itself shows sellers average a 12.6% premium. June came in second at 10.7%, followed by July (10%), April (9.2%), and March (8.9%).
Cold months had the lowest premiums, with October at the lowest (5.2%), followed by November (6.1%) and January (6.2%).
But this spring brings new challenges. Mortgage application volume has been drifting down as homebuyers are pressured out of the market by sky-high price appreciation and rising interest rates.
“While springtime is typically the busiest homebuying season, the upswing in rates has caused some volatility in demand,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “It continues to be a seller’s market, but buyers who remain interested in purchasing a home may find that competition has moderately softened.”
Still, a slowdown may not mean the end of the hot housing market.
“If half of our buyers got priced out of the market, we would still have eight buyers for every listing,” Nick Painz, managing broker at Re/Max Alliance in Westminster, Colo., told the Wall Street Journal.
“The people that think it’s got to stop somewhere, I think they’re in for a rude awakening.”