Sell Your House Now vs. Sell Your House Later

“Now Is The Best Time To Sell”. You’ve probably seen this many times. It’s used a lot and you may find it hard to take it seriously. I know how you feel. Phrases used over and over again, especially in the sales industry, often fail to grab my attention too. Despite this, as a Kansas City real estate agent, one of the most frequent questions I receive is: “When is the best time to sell my house?”

Common practice in the Kansas City real estate market is for a homeowner to place their home on the market in the spring or summer. The weather is more cooperative, kids are out of school, homes for sale are more plentiful, and parents can plan their move to coincide with the school year. So is the summer the best time to put your house on the market? Recently, my office researched Kansas City’s historical trends to see if this question could be answered definitively. What we found in examining the Kansas City and surrounding metropolitan areas over a period from February 2013 to February 2015 has proved most interesting and may surprise you.

First I’ll address Median Price.

The median price between June 2014 and January 2015 fell 2.7%. June’s median price was $226,158; January’s was $220,000. Looking back a year further, the median price in June 2013 was $220,000; by January 2014, it was $190,000 in January 2014, a 13.6% drop!

Conclusion: The median price over the past two years has dropped between June and January so you stand to get more from the sale of your house if you list early in the year with a closing around mid-year.

What drives the median price over the course of a year? Supply and demand. High demand coupled with low supply will drive price up. Conversely, low demand coupled with a high supply will drive prices down. This chart demonstrates the supply of inventory over the course of the year.

The lowest supply of homes on the market in the Kansas City and surrounding areas occurs over the months of April and May.

Conclusion: According to this data from both charts, the market peaks in June. Low supply over the months of April and May leads to a consistent peak in June.

In the spring of 2015 we are seeing this trend continue. Inventory of homes available for sale is extremely low. RIGHT NOW is better than ever for getting your home under contract at its best price. So put your home on the market in April or May for a closing between now and June for your best chance of acquiring the highest sale price for your home!