When and how to sell your home is one of the biggest decisions you'll make to maximize your home's ROI.

Buying a home is one of the biggest investments you'll ever make. (Adobe #267253482)

If you’re reading this, you may be experiencing some sort of major life transition, such as a growing family, a new job, or an emptying nest. These are often the driving forces behind a homeowner’s decision to sell. However, there are factors outside of personal circumstances that also nudge people in one direction or the other, and an opportunity to maximize profits is one of them. So how do you know if now is a good time to sell your home?

This guide will help you make the most of your timing, no matter where you are in life or ownership path. If you’re new, we’ll guide you on ways to maximize your investment from the beginning. And if we’ve met you just as you’re about to sell, we’ll help you gauge the market, and your own circumstances, to get the best deal.

Table of contents:

Identify your homeownership stage
Ways to maximize your ROI throughout your homeownership years
The housing market and timing of your home sale
Your final decision. Is it time to sell?

Think: Homeownership is more than an investment.

Seventy percent of homeowners say their home is their largest asset, which means selling is a rare opportunity to make a sizable return on investment (ROI). While most don’t think about their home's ROI until they’re ready to sell, you need this information throughout the homeowners’ journey in order to make the best decisions.

Your home is the place where you enjoy your life and make memories. Which means the decision to sell your home, or not, a balance you strike between your head and your heart. There’s no one right decision. Always evaluate your own financial circumstances, including lifestyle and goals. For example, where are you in your homeownership journey?

Identify your homeownership stage

Home purchases and sales usually align around large milestones that affect our living circumstances. Identifying your current homeownership stage is a good way to understand why, and when, you might want to sell now or in the future. Typically, people buy and sell their homes in three distinct stages:

First-time home-buyers are most likely to be a few years into their career. They may be in a serious relationship or recently married, or simply ready to put down roots. On average, first-time home buyers keep their home between 5-8 years.

Second-time home-buyers are usually sizing up as their family grows. They’re investing in more amenities and features in their second home, such as bigger yards and garages, or more bedrooms. On average, they keep their homes between 10-15 years.

Third-time home-buyers are most often adding on (vacation homes, investment properties, or addiung 2nd homes), sizing down, or changing geographical locations, such as moving closer to grandchildren, or into a retirement community. These homeowners tend to keep their third home for 8-10 years.

What stage of homeownership are you in? (Adobe #122300294)

Unexpected events that can trigger home sales as well.

Many life changes are predictable, but others can take you by surprise. Here are some unexpected events that typically trigger home sales:

Unexpected new baby
Lost income
Gained income
Geographical job change
Marriage or divorce
A sudden need for more space (think Covid-driven work-from-home changes)
Sudden need for money (think medical bills)

Even if you aren’t ready to sell now, you still have plenty of time to maximize your ROI for down the road.

Maximize your ROI throughout your homeownership years

The majority of your homeownership years are about living your life and enjoying your space. But if you keep a few things in mind along the way — such as what home upgrades are most valuable, or what certain changes in the neighborhood could mean — then you’ll be well-informed and ready when the time does come to sell.

Make Valuable Home Upgrades

People typically make improvements to a home either right before they move in, or during the time that they live there, for reasons like personal needs. preferences, and enjoyment. However, you can also make upgrades with the sole intention of increasing a home’s value—setting you up for max ROI even if you won’t be ready to sell for years down the line.

In a perfect world, you choose upgrades that serve both your personal preferences, and increase your home value. And while some can return more on your investment than others, knowing which are smart, and which might be less so (for example, central AC isn’t “worth” as much in Washington state as it is in Texas) is important when prioritizing your projects. Here are some of the top home upgrades that can increase your home’s value:

Modernize the Kitchen and Bathrooms: These are the most important rooms for improving ROI; upgrade the appliances, replace sinks and countertops, and knock out any unnecessary walls to create a more open floor plan.
Makeover the Outdated: Remove unsightly flooring and carpets, or upgrade to hardwood, replace popcorn ceilings, paint interior rooms, and/or get new doors and windows.
Boost Curb Appeal: Never underestimate the power of a great first impression; replace your garage door, repave the patio or driveway, paint the exterior, add landscaping and/or a front walkway.

Make it More Energy-efficient: Energy-efficient homes are in high-demand; “green” yours by installing energy-efficient lighting and appliances, upgrading your windows, or installing solar panels.
Increase Usable Square Footage: The amount of usable square footage goes directly into how much your property is worth. You can increase it by adding on another story, a room or bathroom, or even a mother-in-law unit in the back.
Tech Upgrades: A survey by Coldwell Banker found that two-thirds of home buyers (particularly the young and tech-savvy) prefer homes with smart products installed such as thermostats, cameras, fire detectors, locks, and lighting systems. An increased number of remote-workers post-pandemic has only increased this demand.

Take the stress off of future you, by making improvements gradually over time. Not only does that spread out the cost of fixing up your home, but you also get to enjoy these upgrades while you still live there. Read our guide Home Upgrades to Maximize Your ROI for more information.

It’s not just what you do inside your home that can increase your property value. It also matters what’s going on around it – such as in your neighborhood at large. Local changes can dramatically impact your home’s overall value, so monitoring them can help you decide if it’s a good time to sell or not.

Pay Attention to Neighborhood Developments

Changes in your neighborhood could drive you to sell sooner than anticipated, or, be an encouragement to hold on to your house longer than planned. Improvements to the areas surrounding your house could even increase your property’s value without you ever having to lift a finger. What sort of neighborhood developments might increase property value?

A shift in demographics such as attracting more younger people and families
The opening of new businesses, such as higher-end grocery stores
An improved school rating or approved district funding for new construction for schools or other community development
Infrastructure repairs such as to roads, bridges, increased traffic control, etc.
Upgrades to neighborhood commons such as parks, playgrounds, and libraries

These sorts of local changes are good indicators that your neighborhood will continue to improve over time. When you see these developments, it may be a good idea to wait to sell, or even rent out your property if you’re in the position of having to move, but don’t want to sell now.

Look at other factors that decrease property value

While certain neighborhood changes can increase your property’s value, some will have the opposite effect. Highway expansions, or the construction of a multi-story housing complex could potentially decrease your home’s value by changing the environment. If you see changes like this, you may decide it’s time to sell.

Beyond what’s going on in your home and neighborhood, your property value and the entire selling experience will also be influenced heavily by housing market conditions.

Is it a Buyer’s or a Seller’s Market?

Your local housing market is the biggest driver of your home’s value. Whether it’s a buyer’s, or seller’s market will dramatically impact the length of time it takes to sell your home, the total number and quality of offers you get, and how much you’re able to sell for.

In a balanced housing market, the number of homes for sale (measured across a six month period) is generally comparable to the number of interested buyers, creating a fairly equal, or neutral relationship between buyer and seller. But, there are times when this equilibrium is disturbed, dramatically changing the conditions for those buying and/or selling.

In a Buyer’s market, there are more homes for sale than there are buyers, meaning homeowners are forced to price their homes low in order to sell them.

In a Seller’s market the opposite is true, in that there are more buyers than houses available, raising both the demand, and the sale prices. In other words, in a seller’s market you’re more likely to receive multiple offers, and bids above asking price.

So how do you know if it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market when you’re ready to sell? Forecasters use specific calculations, and indicators, to describe what’s happening in the market at any given time, as well as predict the market’s behavior six months or more into the future.

Two principle methods are used to do this. The first is inventory.

Determine the amount of available inventory

By calculating the available inventory in your area, you can see if conditions are more favorable to buyers, or to sellers. A balanced or neutral market (that favors neither buyers or sellers) will have about 6 months of available inventory. Anything above a six month supply is considered a Buyer’s market, and any less, a Seller’s market. Resource sites like Zillow or Trulia can provide information you need for these calculations, such as the number of houses sold in your local area in the last 30 days. This number is then divided over total listings.

To determine available inventory, take the number of homes currently for sale in your local area (found on sites like RedFin or Zillow) and divide it by the number of sales over the past 30 days.

Ex: 100 homes listed for sale / 20 sales last 30 days = 5 months of inventory

In this example, the market is slightly favoring sellers because there’s less than 6 months of available inventory. If the result is greater than 6 months, the market could be turning into a buyer’s market, because there are more homes for sale than there is interest.

Another way to evaluate the housing market and how it will behave is to look at interest rates.

Use interest rates to predict demand

Interest rates are a strong influencer on whether new buyers, and investors, enter the housing market. Low-interest mortgages make buying property more affordable for a greater number of people. With more folks able to buy, inventory decreases and creates a seller’s market. When interest rates rise, first-time buyers who aren’t selling an existing home, can start getting priced out of the market. This drives a shift towards a buyer’s market.

[If you’re asking yourself what all this means, see our guide: Is 2022 A Good Time To Sell?]

First-time home buyers can get priced out of the market when rates rise. (Adobe #248311023)

Your final decision: time to sell?

Deciding to sell your home or not will never be perfectly clear cut. At SellWhenever, we advise taking a holistic approach to your decision-making, factoring in both what’s in your head, and what’s in your heart.

Meaning, take your circumstances, financial situation, and local market conditions into account. While your overall ROI should be an important and motivating factor, sometimes it’s not possible to factor it in, nor can ROI alone determine your best course of action. Every home, and seller situation, is different.

However, if you’ve done your research, and know you want to sell, it’s time to look ahead and pick a date to start planning around. Once you have a target list date, you can backtrack and fit in all you need to do to increase your home’s value in time to sell.

Consider Future Listing Dates

Your target listing date should take into consideration a timeline in which to make essential home repairs and improvements, especially those that will boost profits. You’ll also want to factor in the best month of the year to sell.

As a seller, you’ll need to be aware of any appraisals that the buyer has received about your property. If the home’s value is appraised (or, determined to be valued at) a lower price than what you were hoping to sell for, you may need to make adjustments. An appraisal can also dramatically influence your decision about what repairs and projects you’ll want or need to do to adjust your home’s value.

You want to start by determining which home repairs and projects you’ll do, and then mapping out how long each will take on a timeline. Get multiple time and cost quotes from contractors before you proceed.

The following are a list of home improvements that are sure to swing a home’s value upward.

Consider upgrading your home's curb appeal with an exterior paint job. (Adobe #165510017)

Make Essential Home Repairs

At least two or three months before you plan to list your home, consider getting a pre-sale home inspection to identify where your trouble spots are. Have your Home Inspector look carefully for any structural or mechanical issues that could hinder a sale.

Leave enough time in your schedule to accomplish them. If your inspectiom report indicates any of the following mandatory-repair issues, leave more time prior to selling:

Mold or water damage
Pest or wildlife infestation
Fire or electrical hazards
Toxic or chemical hazards
Major structural damage or building code violations
Trip hazards

Painting walls neutral colors are an easy fast way to create house appeal. (Adobe #160834029)

Create A Lot of "House Appeal"

No matter what style house, everyone wants a clean, well-maintained, and visually appealing property. Consider increasing your home’s appearance, and therefore its potential value, with superficial upgrades before you sell. Small changes that can make a big difference in drawing people in, and getting interested shoppers to buy faster. Nearly a quarter of sellers who make home improvements are able to sell their homes above their listing price.

So figure out what you'll improve, and how long it’ll take. Some of the easiest and best ways to boost your home’s appeal before selling are:

Painting: A quick fresh coat of neutral paint, or ripping out outdated wallpaper can make a big difference to anyone viewing your home.
Light Fixtures: It’s amazing how much a quick change to a light fixture can spiff up a space. Give it a try!
Small Landscaping Projects: First impressions matter. Keep the curb appeal of your house looking sharp by doing yourself, or hiring out, some light landscaping.
Replace Faucets: Changing the faucets in your kitchen and bathrooms is a small detail that can help modernize a room for very little effort and expense.
Patch Up Drywall Holes: Be sure to fix any holes from anchors, nails, and hanging frames/shelving that may have left damage over the years. Do this before you paint.
Clean Windows: Giving the inside and outside of your windows a deep clean can make your home feel lighter and brighter, opening the space up.

Consider the best time of year to sell

If you have the luxury of a long-term plan to sell, you’ll have more flexibility in choosing the best season to sell your home. And yes, the season, and even the month you list your home in, can impact your home sales’ bottomline.

For example, delaying the sale of your home for up to six months in order to take advantage of more favorable market conditions could put as much as 20% more back in your pocket. In slower-selling months, homes spent an average of 76 days on the market, vs 51 days in faster selling months.

In the U.S. these months are March, June and July, with July being the most in demand, and commanding the highest home prices of the year. Factoring into this are families looking to buy and move in before the fall school year begins, putting pressure on mid-late summer sales.

Homes take the longest to sell in winter. That's when colder weather keeps home buyer inside, and the holidays keep people busy with travel and socializing.

Selling in winter does have its perks, though: winter buyers tend to be motivated. It’s also a great time to highlight your home’s energy efficient features—and in colder regions, outside landscaping is less critical for curb appeal.

Once you know that you’d like to sell your home, it’s time to hire a professional to help you solidify a plan.

Always work with with an agent who knows your local market well. (Adobe #238341235)

Hire an agent

As soon as you make the decision to sell your house, jump right into finding a real estate agent. Selling a home includes many moving parts — some of which are under your control, and some which are out of your hands. A good real estate agent will have a variety of tools in their professional toolbox to optimize the sale of your home, nail a listing date, and maximize your ROI. How do you know if your real estate professional is any good? Look for an agent with these qualities:

Good communication
Reliable experience
Strong local market knowledge
Positive reviews
Personal rapport

At SellWhenever, we vet our realtors even more rigorously, taking additional steps to identify a local market’s top performers. We qualify our agents with these additional metrics:

The number of transactions in the past year
The number of homes sold in your neighborhood
The average number of days the homes they sell are on the market

Set Your Date

A top notch real estate agent will help you determine your ideal listing date for your home, even down to the day of the week. From there, many factors can determine how quickly your home will sell. Your neighborhood, the current state of your home, the listing prices of homes for sale around you, and market conditions all will play a role.

Buying and selling a home is so often about good timing. (Adobe #330758315)

The Bottom Line

To sell your home is a big decision, and when to sell can impact your ROI. But personalized support from a local real estate professional can guide you through the process.

With SellWhenever agents, you can ask any question under the sun. You can count on reliable and smart advice throughout your journey – whether you’re a first-time home buyer, an empty-nester, or anywhere in between.

Here’s what you get with SellWhenever:

An immediate thank you payment (up to $2,000) when you join
Ongoing guidance on how to maximize your home’s value throughout your homeownership journey
Exclusive ongoing market insights to help you determine the best time to sell
Guidance on the best time to put your house on the market
A top performing SellWhenever real estate agent to help facilitate the sale of your home when you’re ready to sell

We hope you share this valuable information with friends and family, no matter what stage of homeownership you, or they, are in. Follow us on our social channels for industry insights, homeownership support, tips, and more!

Contact us today.

Sarah A. Lybrand

The Best Time to Sell Your Home (Ultimate Guide)