What’s the Best Time to Sell My House in Maplewood or South Orange?

Happy 2024 to SOMA!

When I meet with sellers, they inevitably ask me if there is a “best” time to sell their house. I always give them the same answer: “The best time is when the timing is right for you.” If you have school-aged kids and need them to finish out the school year, or you need to be settled in in Chicago for a new job by March, those things are very important and should be the preeminent factor driving your timing.

One other consideration is condition. It is vitally important to have a house in optimal showing condition when it comes on the market. We have only one chance to make a great first impression! So if you want to get your house on the market in the springtime and just can’t make all of the recommended preparations in time, then WAIT until you can complete them. I like to see my sellers in the strongest position when they go live on the market, so all of the cleaning, organizing, staging, and repairs should be completed so that your “product” is very attractive to buyers.

Looking at the data for 2023, June and July were the “best” months for selling a SOMA home. Homes that closed for the highest percentage over list price in Maplewood closed in July at 15% over list. Homes that closed for the highest percentage over list price in South Orange closed in June for an average of 13% over list price. Given that homes generally take about 45-60 days to close, one can assume that these homes hit the market in April and May of 2023– the sweet spot for last year. The average home in South Orange closed for 8% over list, and the average Maplewood home closed for 9% over list in 2023, so you can see that homes listed during the “sweet spot” sold for about 5-6% higher than average.

Is there a bad time of year to list your house? The answer is “no,” but there are a few less optimal periods. For example, the holiday season in November/December tends to get quiet as people are distracted by celebrating. You will see this proven out in our latest market reports, which show that homes that closed in January of 2023, meaning they came to market during the holidays, sold for just 1% over list price. Since the average house sold for 8% over list price in S. Orange and 9% over list price in Maplewood last year, that’s a big difference!

Also, holiday weekends where buyers tend to be away or taking some leisure time from their searches like July 4th, President’s Day, Labor Day or Memorial Day are weekends that would not be ideal for your first open house and weekend of showings.

Remember that averages are just averages. If your house is well prepared, well priced, and easily accessible, we will do well with it just about any time of year.

Here is our latest market report for South Orange and Maplewood:

If you have questions about timing and preparation for your home sale please reach out for a confidential consultation with us. You can email me at [email protected].

The Allison Ziefert Real Estate Group is a top-producing real estate team based at Compass in Short Hills, New Jersey. We are local market experts, specializing in real estate and homes in Maplewood, South Orange, Millburn/Short Hills, Montclair/Glen Ridge, West Orange, Morristown, and the surrounding New Jersey towns. We’ve also got you covered coast to coast with the best connections to top agents around the country in any market you are exploring. We are driven by earning great testimonials and referral business from happy clients.