In most years, the best time to list a home is May. But last year the optimal time to put your home on the market came a little later, in June. And the housing market could be on track to reach a similar peak in 2024.
Homes listed last year during the first half of June typically sold for prices higher than $7,700, according to a new report from Zillow. If you’re a homeowner thinking about selling this spring, you may want to wait, as June could once again be a seller-friendly month in 2024, the report says.
Spring and early summer are usually the rainiest times active times for the real estate market and sellers can benefit from increased buyer demand. Home sales increase this time of year because the school year is winding down and warmer weather makes it easier for families to move, among other factors.
The best time to sell your house
According to the report, before the housing market took a hit in 2020, May had “consistently” been the best month for sellers to list their homes. Now, the best time to list a home seems to be later.
“The move into June suggests that mortgage rates are strongly influencing demand beyond the usual seasonality that brings buyers to the market in the spring,” Zillow said in the report. “This home shopping season is set to follow a similar pattern to 2023.”
Last spring the market recorded the highest mortgage rates in years. A slight decline in rates in June, however, brought buyers to the market. According to data from Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed rate loan was 6.79% for the week ending June 1, 2023, but had fallen to 6.67% three weeks later.
Current mortgage rates are higher than a year ago at 6.88%. If mortgage rates fall again during this year’s spring homebuying season, sales prices could rise, according to Zillow.
Some analysts expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in mid-June, and if that materializes, it would likely lead to a drop in mortgage rates, driving an increase in home sales. Zillow chief economist Skylar Olsen said in the report that a mid-year rate cut could trigger a “second wave” of the spring homebuying season.
“The old logic was that sellers could earn a premium by listing in late spring, when their home would be at the top of the listing pile when search activity was at its peak,” Skylar Olsen, chief Zillow economist. “Now, with persistently low inventory, mortgage rate fluctuations create their own seasonality.
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