When is the best time to sell your home? Ask most Realtors, and we’ll quickly say “any time is a good time to sell!” (Because we not-so-secretly really want the listing.) But if you look at the data, you’ll find there’s not only a rhythm to the real estate market — every real estate market — but also there’s some precise timing.  

Let’s break down the data.

So when is the best time to sell? According to an article published just yesterday by Street Easy, they analyzed the data, and the best time to list a home, with the shortest market time, is the first week of March.

In New York City. (That’s where Street Easy is based. And, oh by the way, Street Easy is owned by Zillow, so there’s that.)

But that’s the problem with headlines, right? We have to read the “fine print,” as it were, to find out what they’re really talking about. So what about the first week of March? I’m good to list a property in, say, a couple week’s time from now. Are you? Is March good with you? March is good with me. Let’s do March.

If we take the national headline and really focus that lens on our local market, here’s what the local data reveals.

In South Hampton Roads, year over year, there is a cycle and rhythm to our real estate market — even during those very remarkable and anomalous years of the pandemic — there was a rhythm to the market.

You know, in 2020 and 2021, the rhythm of the local market felt like was an angry metalcore symphony — no rest, no stopping. In the moment of the pandemic market, it felt like there was no stopping and no resting, but, in retrospective, there was a rhythm to the number of days on market.

And that rhythm is this: Spring is the optimal time to list your home for sale in Hampton Roads. March is good. April is good. Interestingly, the days on market lengthens slightly over the summer. That said, when a property is priced right, looks right, and marketed right, it will sell right away.

So if you want to make a great move, the right time to start the conversation is right now. We can go as quickly or as slowly as you need us to, but it all starts with a conversation. 

If you know anyone who’s thinking of buying or selling, we would be glad to help. Just make the introduction, and we’ll take it from there.