Best time of year for turnover?

[Jim D.]

I've typically assumed that summer is the best time of year to have a tenant move out, since there seem to be more people moving during this time and more potential tenants to fill the spots. I've only had one winter vacancy, and it was indeed a little harder to fill than usual. However, I've never seen any data to confirm this. It also doesn't make sense to me logically because if more people are moving in the summer, then there should be more open units you're competing with as well.

In your experience, does the time of year affect how hard it is to fill a vacancy?