Selling Your Home in 2024? You May Get the Best Offer at This Time of the Year

Although 2024 is shaping up to be a difficult year to buy a home, selling one is a different story. Many homeowners are hesitant to sell today because they don't want to give up the affordable mortgages they're currently paying off. As such, there's a notable lack of inventory on the real estate market. And when there's little competition, it gives sellers the upper hand.

But while selling your home in 2024 in general is a move that might work out well for you financially, getting your timing right could put even more money in your pocket. In fact, you may want to gear up to list your home soon if your goal is to snag the highest sale price.

Plan to list your home at the start of June

Spring is typically a popular time to list and buy a home. But data from Zillow reveals that sellers who list their homes during the first half of June tend to benefit financially.

In fact, based on 2023 data, Zillow finds that homes listed during the first two weeks of June sell for 2.3% more than homes listed at other points during the year. For the typical U.S. home, that amounts to a purchase price that's $7,700 higher.

If you've been thinking seriously about listing your home, the time to get moving is now. But there may be a few key steps you need to take before you're ready to list your home.

Set yourself up for success

Since there's not a lot of housing inventory to go around, you might think that you can handle the process of selling your home yourself. But that's a decision that might sorely backfire on you.

When you sell a home yourself, you have to market it yourself, coordinate showings with potential buyers, and negotiate on your own behalf. The latter is a tough thing to do without the right skills and experience. It's also something you might struggle to do without getting emotional.

That's why hiring a real estate agent could be a smart idea. Yes, you'll lose some of your sale proceeds to a commission -- that's a given. But a real estate agent might make the process of selling your home much less stressful. And they might also manage to get you a high-enough sale price that it makes up for their fee and then some.

In addition to finding a real estate agent, you'll want to address obvious flaws with your home prior to listing it. This doesn't mean you need to dip into your savings to do a last-minute bathroom renovation. But if you have a leaky faucet or tiles that have seen better days, it's a good idea to replace that faucet and do some regrouting.

Similarly, you'll want to make sure your home gives a good first impression. If your lawn hasn't been well-maintained, make sure to trim the grass, reshape your shrubs, clean out debris, and address other glaring issues, like missing fence panels.

Finally, make sure to declutter your home so it shows nicely when prospective buyers come to see it. Aim to depersonalize your home so potential buyers can picture themselves living in it. You don't have to go through your house room by room and paint all of the walls beige. But do remove family photos or artwork that may be very specific to your taste.

Act quickly for a big payday

You may end up doing quite well for yourself if you sell your home in 2024 regardless of when you put up your listing. But if you're able to list your home during the first half of June, you might walk away with a larger sale price than expected. It pays to act quickly if getting your home listed in early June is doable.