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Putting your house on the market means cleaning up, cleaning out, and making fixes that will help your home shine. If you’re selling your home this spring, you also want to time it just right so you can get your home sold quickly. Realtor.com released its 2026 Best Time to Sell report on March 18, revealing the week of April 12-18 is the best time to list a home this year thanks to strong buyer demand, a faster-paced market, and higher prices. It could translate to more money for sellers.
Historically, homes listed during this time reach prices 1.3% higher than the average week of the year and 6.6% higher than the start of the year. This year’s outlook indicates that the national median listing price could be $5,300 more than the average week and $26,000 more than at the start of the year.
Mortgage rates hit some of their lowest levels in four years earlier this year, and that means those who couldn’t previously afford to buy will be joining the market again. In addition to higher demand, the market is expected to ramp up in mid-April after a slow winter.
“After years of being squeezed by limited inventory and high rates, the 2026 housing market is starting to feel more approachable for those who have been sidelined,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, in a press release. “This shift doesn’t just mean more options; lower rates and tempered price growth should give buyers’ some budget breathing room. For sellers, the mid-April window represents an opportunity to enter a market that feels more within reach for buyers while benefiting from a seasonal advantage in terms of pricing and competition.”
Higher demand means a faster-paced market. Listings during this time typically gain 16.7% more views than the average week, and homes sell about nine days faster than the rest of the year. During this time in 2025, homes stayed on the market for 50 days, which is 10 days faster than the annual average and three days faster than the average in 2019, before the pandemic.
Timing when you put your home on the market is especially important in certain parts of the country. “The housing market remains undersupplied, especially in the Northeast and Midwest, meaning sellers of well-priced, move-in ready homes are likely to find success,” said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, in the release. While sellers in these markets may find success even if they list outside of April 12-18, those in the South and West will go up against more homes for sale. For them, listing their homes during that week could mean a bigger payoff.
It’s important that home sellers don’t wait too long to list because historically by the end of June both prices and new sellers will surge. More competition is a plus for home buyers but not for sellers. So even if you can’t list during the best week of the year, getting your home on the market earlier in the season can be an advantage.
Read the original article on Southern Living
