Best & Worst Months to List a Home

[Jack Medford]

Over the last couple days I've been going through the MLS data for Madison to find out when the best and worst times to list a home are. I've got the data for SF homes for the years 2015-2019 compiled here for everyone.

If you're in another market, like Milwaukee or Janesville (or really anywhere in Wisconsin) and would like to see how your local market compares, let me know. I'll be able to get those numbers out pretty quick. 

Total Listings by Month

Roughly 46% of all listings come on the market between March and June, April being the most popular with 1,633 total over the last 5 years. No shock to see that November – January show the fewest number of listings with the fewest being December at 451.

Average Price vs Median Price

The highest average prices all come in the first half of the year, with the peak being in March at $306,763. Surprisingly, January has the 2nd highest AVG Price at $302,842. More telling are the Median Prices, which show the highest prices are from December – May. This means listing anywhere from December through May will give the best chance at selling at the highest possible price. March, which is right in the middle of this period, is the peak of prices.

Average Days on Market vs Median Days on Market

The AVG Days on Market and Median Days on Market show a not so surprising story. February – April have the lowest AVG numbers, while Median numbers remain similar from January – June. DOM quickly increase, for both AVG and Median, starting in July and continuing through the year.

Total Expired vs Percent Sold

This graph surprised me the most, in that homes listed in the period from June – August appears to be the most likely to expire. Thinking on it more, I should’ve expected this. Homes listed in this period, which do not sell quickly, must then deal with the slow winter months.

On the other hand, we see homes listed between Dec – Feb have the highest percentage of selling. Part of this could be due to there being less inventory during this period. The other factor could be that, when the market begins to pick up in February, these homes are already on the market and willing to sell quickly due to the slow winter.

Conclusion

No matter what your goal, whether selling quick or selling for maximum value, listing in March seems to be the best bet. If listing after June, be prepared to either be competitive on price or be willing to wait a long time for an acceptable offer.

The main rule of thumb…. If at all possible, list in the first half of the year (preferably first 4 months) not in the second half.