When Is The Best Time to Sell Your Home in Long Island?

Ahhh …. selling your home. When is the best time to reach the most prospective buyers in Long island and when will it be the easiest for you to get your house sold. In our latest post, we will help you figure out when it’s the best time to sell your house!

The Best Time to Sell Your Home in Long Island, NY

Is there a particular season that is better than the others? 

Realtors and pretty much everyone else always say that people are buying in the spring and summer. School is out, relocating becomes more tangible and the weather is conducive for going house hunting. Statistics generally show more people are buying when it’s warm, so you will likely have a larger pool of prospective buyers. However, we held an open house at a beautifully rehabbed home this past July on a beautiful Saturday, with 90 degree temps and had 4 people show up. Long Islanders are not usually going to give up a day like that to go to an open house, unless they are really serious about making a move. All of that being said, spring is one of the hottest times of the year so get started early with cleaning out and cleaning up  to prep your home, and get ready to list it in sometime between April and June!

Please keep in mind though that there are a lot of other variables that also come into play when deciding when is the best time to sell your home in Long Island. This includes the time tested economic principle of supply and demand. Is there a shortage of supply of available homes in your market, but a very high demand for these homes? If you live in a desirable neighborhood with few homes for sale, a good school district and lots of demand, it should make little difference when you put your house on the market as people who want to buy in that market will show up on Christmas Day if you are having an open house. We just held an open house for one of our beautifully rehabbed houses in East Northport NY and had 65 people show up at an open house that was held the weekend after the New Years holiday, in the freezing cold and had 9 offers the very first day.

Of course, if you are selling a home you own that is located in a warmer climate, such as Southern California or South Florida, cold weather isn’t as much of a concern. In fact, sometimes winter proves to be a better time to sell because all the snowbirds are in town. You will likely have people in the area from all over the country, and a great pool of prospective buyers checking out your house. The holiday season has also always worked out well for us in selling homes, because the often grown up kids are back in their hometown and spending time with family. Maybe they are starting a family  and want to start looking for a home in a place that they know and love. We have had lots of younger couples show up with their parents to open houses during the December holiday season.

Are you ready to sell your home?

You need to first ask yourself if you are financially ready to sell. There are costs associated with selling your home such as repairs, clean-ups and making it look nice. Do you need to move by a certain date? Or be able to get another mortgage for a new house? If so, this can add pressure which can stress you out and sometimes make you sell for less than you were planning on. It’s often also difficult to sell a house the traditional way in Long Island or anywhere in New York while trying to buy another property you need to get a mortgage on.
You have to depend on somebody else’s ability to close on your home to make it all work.

Are you and your family emotionally ready? If the move isn’t necessary, make sure it’s really the best time to go. Are your kids almost out of school? Are you certain you want to leave your friends, job, and community? Make sure you are making the right choice before making such an impactful decision for your family. If its the right time and the right decision then of course you should jump and do it!

What some of the stats say:

Nationwide, homes listed between May 1 and May 15 sold around nine days faster and for nearly 1% more than the average listing, according to Zillow. This is however a nationwide stat, so I would not put too much stock in it. Long island perpetually has a shortage of good affordable housing that is in good condition. If your home is in a good neighborhood, in a good school district and is in good and updated condition, it should sell most times of the year if it is priced correctly.

As far as the day of the week, listing on a Saturday is favorable as that is when most people have the time to sit down and peruse listings. And since listings often appear with the newest ones first, getting yours at the top of the list will help you to get more views. Listing on a Friday is the 2nd best way to go statistically! If you are going to have an open house, I would make sure too start posting the open house no later than the Wednesday preceding the date of the open house. Buyers typically like to line up the open houses they will visit on Saturday and Sunday by looking through open house listing on the internet on Thursday and Friday.

Being Different Can Be Beneficial

While summer is preferred by many people, there is something to be said about not doing what everyone else is doing. Selling in the off season can have its perks as well. Your pool of buyers might be smaller, or maybe not, but the pool of available homes will be as well. This is your chance to make your home stand out from the one across the street. Less competition on the market, might mean a bigger reward for you!

Are you interested in selling your Long Island home? If you don’t want to sell your house with the hassles of selling the ‘traditional way” Contact us online or Call us at (516) 704-7025 and we can chat about your options!