Is spring the best time to sell my house?

Is spring the optimal time to get the best price for your house? With buyers having the upper hand it may be a tough season for sellers.

Residz Team 3 min read


With its fresh start vibe, spring would appear to be the best time to sell a home. There are certainly more sellers choosing to list at this time of year. But is spring the optimal time to get the best price for your house? With buyers having the upper hand (and the time to use tech platforms like Residz to do more thorough property research), sellers must work harder than ever as we change seasons. Let’s see what the evidence shows about listing in spring.

View from expert Robert Klaric

On the question of “Is there an optimal time of the year to sell?” Residz ambassador and author of ‘Secrets Of The Property Expert’ Robert Klaric says the answer is yes and no.

“Popular wisdom would have it that spring and summer are better periods in which to market your property: the weather will be kind, your outdoor areas will be looking their best and prospective buyers will be feeling more optimistic."
“In fact, most people base their decision to sell on a myriad of factors, which rarely include the time of year. Provided that you do try to avoid peak periods such as Christmas you’re best to market your property when the time is right for you.”

Number of listings surge in spring

Spring is known for prompting a slew of listings. CoreLogic said in a recent Property Pulse newsletter that, nationally, the number of new listings typically falls by 9.2% between autumn and winter (based on the pre-COVID average) before surging 18.9% between winter and spring.

“The seasonality of the flow of new listings between winter and spring is most obvious across the ‘colder’ states.  ACT listings surge by an average of 40% between winter and spring, while Hobart, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney also see more than a 20% difference between the winter and spring seasons.”

Study shows seasons have minimal effects on prices

A (pre-Covid) study by Peter Rossini at the University of South Australia found volume of listings were affected by seasonality...

“The results suggest that there are significant seasonal effects on the volume of detached dwelling transactions in Adelaide particularly in beachside and hills locations where summer and autumn show statistically significant seasonal effects."

But with prices, seasonality wasn’t a big factor…..

“There is little evidence of any seasonal effect on prices of detached dwellings. If there is any seasonality in these property prices, it is too small to quantify at sub-market level, however there is some evidence that property prices may be around 1% lower in winter than in other seasons.”

2022 season a cooler one

Of course, this year prices are greatly affected by factors beyond the temperature outside. The cooling temperature of the real estate market will greatly affect whether sellers list this spring (unless they are forced to sell because of the 4Ds).

Sellers know they will be sharing the buyers’ pool with all the unsold winter listings. Buyers are more choosy and a lot more cautious in 2022, so sellers need to find their ‘purple cow’ to stand out from the crowd.

Tips for selling success no matter the season

No matter what the seasonal conditions, Robert Klaric says the key to a successful sale is:

Remembering that selling your property is business, it’s not personal. Your tastes and preferences are irrelevant. Your sole focus should be to make your home as appealing as possible to as broad a section of the market as you can.

Residz can help buyers and sellers reduce the stress of researching Australian properties:

References: Peter Rossini, 2000, ‘Estimating the Seasonal Effects of Residential Property Markets - A Case Study of Adelaide’, University of South Australia.

Photo by Arno Smit on Unsplash