Why It’s Easier Selling Your Home in Q4 Than It Is in Q1

Homestead & Co. Podcast with Zach Sikes

Most people assume that springtime, or the first quarter of the year (Q1), is the best time to sell your home and that wintertime, or the fourth quarter (Q4), is a bad time to do it. According to the numbers, though, this simply isn’t true. Although it is true that more homes sell during the first quarter, there are fewer homes that come on the market during the fourth quarter, so the absorption rate is higher during that time. For example, during the fourth quarter of 2017, there were 1,014 new listings that came on the market and 834 homes that went under contract. If you do the math, that’s the market absorbing 82% of the new inventory. “If you’re thinking of selling your home sometime in the next six months, I highly recommend doing it during the fourth quarter of this year instead of the first quarter of next year.” During the first quarter of this year, there were 1,446 new listings that came on the market and 1,121 homes that went under contract, which means the market only absorbed 77% of the new inventory. As you can see, more homes sell during the first quarter, but the competition is also higher, which is why the chances that you can sell your home during that time actually decrease by 5%. If you’re thinking of selling your home sometime in the next six months, I highly recommend doing it during the fourth quarter of this year instead of the first quarter of next year. If you have any more questions about the best time to sell your home or you have any other real estate needs I can help you with, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to help you.