4 reasons why March is a good time to sell

The spring bounce is a phenomenon that is observed in housing markets every year, as demand from buyers and activity from sellers jumps. While common consensus dictates that the first few months of the year is the best time to list your property on the market, is the housing myth true?

We round up four reasons why March is a good time to sell your home.

1. Warmer weather

With March comes warmer weather in many countries. In England, the average temperature jumps from 7.2°C in February to 9.8°C. The difference may be slight, but with hours of sunshine increasing from 74.3 to 107.6, it is enough to encourage house hunters to step outside of their home to view properties. That gives you a significant advantage when trying to sell your home: you are extremely unlikely to find a buyer without a viewing.

2. School holidays

While the warmer weather is a major factor in boosting buying and selling activity during the spring, school holidays also create a window of opportunity for those struggling to find time to find a new home. Indeed, with both spring half-term and Easter arriving in quick succession, this is one of the best times of the year for house hunters, second only to summer. 

3. Beating the rush

Summer is the peak for the housing market, but waiting until then to list your house will only mean that you miss out on a lot of buyers who are already hunting for property. Listing now will ensure you capitalise on both periods of activity.

Indeed, buyers are already searching online, with Zillow reporting a spike in web traffic every April. In February, meanwhile, page views on HomesGoFast.com jumped 11 per cent from January, as buyer interest steadily warms up for the spring. Pages per session also climbed 13 per cent month-on-month, indicating that buyers are not only searching more, but also viewing more listings. href="http:>

Research from Zillow concludes that homes listed at the end of March sell the fastest, precisely because they arrive just before the peak in buyer activity. Homes advertised in early March or in February (when there is a spike in listing activity) have already been seen by buyers beginning to sift through listings and are starting to look stale. Those added just before the rush, though, appear at the top of search results, when orered by date, helping them to stand out as fresh and new opportunities in a crowded market.

4. Get best prices

Better exposure to buyers leads to more interest from potentially more house hunters. As a result, competition will be stronger, which will ultimately mean that conditions are better for you to sell your home at the best possible price. Indeed, according to Zillow, in 2011 and 2012, those who listed their properties at the end of March not only sold faster, but also fetched more then 2 per cent above the average asking figure.

 

Photo: Hmoong