When Is The Best Time to Sell Your Home in Seattle?

Many of our sellers ask us when is the best time to sell a home in Seattle. In our many years of experience, we have found that the early part of the year is one of the the hottest markets, while people typically get more money with fewer offers in the fall. However, this all depends on the type of home you’re selling and what’s happening around you. In this guide, we break it down and dive into the numbers!

Here’s the short answer to the question “When’s the best time to sell your home in Seattle?”:

The best time to sell your home in Seattle is from February through the end of May, and from September through late October.

Most people think we sell most of our homes during the Summer. No! We only get two glorious months of sunshine and warm weather during the Summer. Every homebuyer is out boating, camping, traveling and snagging as much sunshine as possible. And the top agents are recouping from their intense Spring production months.

This blog goes into real estate’s nerdy detail and so you can discover the best time to sell your home in Seattle… specifically your condos, your townhouses, your detached single-family homes, your houseboat, and of course, your Seattle luxury homes.

Best Time to Sell Your Home in Seattle is During the Early Spring and Again in Early Fall

*Seattle Has Peak Selling Markets in April and Again In September*

Regardless of the market conditions, the homes that sell for the most amount of money typically come on the market February through May. And then Seattle gets another small bump in its home selling market values again in September and October. Having said this, there are always slight variations of when might be the best time to sell your home in Seattle. For instance, each style of home has its own optimal timeframe based on if you are selling a condo, a townhouse, a single detached family home, a houseboat, or a luxury home.

There are random nuances that pop up every once in a while. For instance, we sold a house in Alki in multiple offers in the heart of the summer because the inventory dropped dramatically. We sold a modern luxury home in Maple Leaf in early Spring, in a location desired for its Tudors and Bungalows. And we sold a condo with a patio and a pool in the dead of winter.

Below we will go into each of these types of home sales and analyze when the two peak markets are in Seattle throughout the year.

Best Time to Sell Your Condo Home in Seattle

*Rooftop Deck View of the Vertigo Condo on Capitol Hill in Seattle*

The best time of year to sell your condo home in Seattle is late Fall. Why? The condo market in Seattle is wonky. Basically buyers do not come into the market until November or December. I think this is a combination of traditional real estate marketers treating condo sales like a regular single-family home sale. They bring on the bulk of condos during the traditionally high inventory months of June and September. Most Seattle home buyers typically start off thinking about purchasing a home in a walkable neighborhood. It takes them months to figure out the best option for them is actually a condo. And then boom: A ton of condo options come about and they make that jump in November and December.

Check Out a Couple of Our Favorite Condo Home Sales

Diva Pro-Tip: Hire the best marketer in your area that will go above and beyond traditional condo marketing for your home. This last summer, we brought on a one-bedroom condo on Capitol Hill and knew that we had to out-market our competition because of the high one-bedroom condo inventory. We pulled in our marketing team, did drone shots, showed off the rooftop deck in its Seattle summer glory, and had the home beautifully staged. The result was that our client’s condo was one of the few condos to sell during the summer of 2019.

* There were three years 2010, 2017, and 2018 when the condo market matched the single-family home market and the peak markets were in early spring.

Best Time to Sell Your Townhouse Home in Seattle

*Recently sold Capitol Hill Townhouse. In prepping for the sale the Team Diva spent weeks making sure to get those sunny perfect shots to highlight the architecture of this Capitol Hill Townhouse.*

The best time of year to sell your townhouse is completely dependent on the year and how much new construction inventory is coming online. Overall there appear to be two patterns for peak markets for townhouses. We have seen that Seattle loves its townhouses in April through June. And again in the fall.

A Few of Our Favorite Townhouses

Diva Pro-tip: Overall late Spring and Fall are generally good months to consider selling your home. Some years are completely different. It is EXTREMELY important to run analytics on inventory and what you see coming online in the near future. That is going to give you a more accurate look into your specific market.

As I am writing this blog, the Teen in our home said “All townhouses look the same.” TRUTH! All the more reason to hire an expert who is going to pull out all of the stops when it comes to marketing your special townhouse.

Best Time To Sell Your Detached Single Family Home in Seattle

*The Best Time of Year to Sell a Single Family Homes in Seattle is in April and again in September*

The best time of year to sell your detached single-family home in Seattle is in April and again in September and October. For the last ten years, there are have been a few atypical market situations as we pulled our city out of the recession. But consistently the peak single-family home markets have been in April and again in September.

A Few of Our Favorite Single-Family Homes

Pro-Tip: Detached single-family homes in Seattle are always selling regardless of the time of year. Period! The majority of home buyers come into the market in January and February. But most home sellers are not quite ready to bring on their homes until late Spring or early Summer. Beat the rush. Seattle homebuyers are also extremely savvy. Be prepared to have your home looking its best and marketed like a professional.

Best Time to Sell Your Houseboat Home in Seattle

The best time of year to sell your houseboat or floating home in Seattle is late summer through the Fall. One would assume this is because everyone would be searching for a houseboat or a floating home when the Seattle weather is at its finest. Seems people fall in love with the concept of living in a floating home during Seattle’s glorious summer months and then by Fall are ready to make the actual purchase.

Seattle’s floating home communities are a unique Seattle experience. Everyone loves the idea of these types of homes, but very few people want to live within the parameters of being on the water 24/7. And lucky for these homeowners, there is a limited number of houseboats and floating homes allowed in the city, and no more lots are being created.

Diva Pro-Tip: Selling a floating home takes patience and a stealth marketing strategy. Make sure you hire a listing broker who understands the inspection nuances and has lenders on the ready to support selling a floating home. In addition, your listing broker needs a 60-90 day marketing plan specifically for your floating home.

Best Time to Sell Your Luxury Home in Seattle

The best time to sell a luxury home in Seattle is in October with the exception of a few years where the market was best in the Spring. We analyzed both the pending sales and peak prices and the data shows that a majority of the luxury homes in Seattle get into a contract in October and close in November or December. Some markets are slightly more nuanced. For instance, West Seattle’s luxury market always does best in the early Spring, whereas Capitol Hill’s luxury market goes great guns regardless of the time of year.

A Few of Our Favorite Unique Luxury Homes

Diva Pro-Tip: Seattle’s Luxury market is a collectors’ market for homes priced between $900-1.25M. Meaning people will wait for the home in their preferred neighborhood and then pounce. Overall, the homes only stay on the market for about two or so weeks. Homes over $1.5M in Seattle spend a little more time on the market. The luxury homes that sell fast and for the most amount of money are the ones that are prepped best for the sale, versus homes that have minimal to no updates (think 90s-era gold fixtures.)

* The best time to sell your home in Seattle is based on the peak times of year of pending sales. More pending sales equate to actually sold homes. But you have to get into the market before everyone else decides to ride that Seattle home selling wave once they see high prices in their local neighborhoods. We pulled data from the last ten years to incorporate both the recession and the peak market.

One Last Note About Timing the Seattle Real Estate Market

The best time to sell your home in Seattle is really based on where the inventory levels are for your specific neighborhood and your style of home. For instance, we chose to list a mid-century modern home in Alki in the middle of the summer because the housing inventory had dropped dramatically. The result is that it sold in multiple offers during a sluggish market in Seattle.

Here at Team Diva, we do an intense analysis of the market in your area and will spend months prepping a home for the market if need be, waiting for just the perfect time to jump into the mix and get the deal done. Is it time for you to call a Diva and see when is the best time is for you to sell your Seattle home?

Have A Better Idea When To Sell Your Home in Seattle? Great. Let’s Keep Learning.

Whether you are trying to get a strategy for the home appraisal process or figuring out the best questions to ask a potential listing agent, we have you covered. And of course, part of listing your home will include timing it just right. Many of our sellers want to know the perfect time to sell their home in Seattle, and in our many years of experience, we’ve seen that the early part of the year has the hottest market while the fall typically means fewer offers but more money. However, it’s important to keep in mind that all of this depends on the type of home you’re listing and what’s happening that specific year.

We are here to help. Our team understands that this process can take a year or two. And we are more than willing to give you a personalized plan to get the ball rolling. Feel free to contact us directly at thediva@teamedivarealestate.com or call/text 206-271-0264.