While housing markets are local, national home-selling trends—including ones to get your clients much more for their home—can still prove informative.
Zillow, surveying home sales in the 35 largest U.S. metro areas during 2025, found the best time to list is generally late May, when homes sold for 1.7% more nationally (about $6,000 on a typical U.S. home).
According to Zillow’s Senior Economist Kara Ng, it’s because “late spring is when motivation and momentum meet. Buyers are eager to move before summer vacations and the new school year, and sellers who hit the market at that moment can benefit from heightened competition. But the best week to list ultimately depends on what is happening in your local market.”
Indeed, Zillow’s Best Time to List report stressed that benefits and timing vary across different markets. It also cautions sellers against trying to “time the market,” and notes that other factors besides seasonality (such as changes to mortgage rates or personal events in a homebuyer’s life) drive buyers to enter the market.
The best time to sell can even vary within states, Zillow found, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest premiums came in areas with marked seasonal weather changes.
This year, economists blamed major winter storms for sluggish sales in some regions, particularly the Northeast. That has led to speculation that there could be more pent-up inventory or buyer demand this spring, even though consumer confidence remains shaky.
While Zillow found the prime time to list in most metro areas was in April or May, in San Jose, California, the best time to list was found to be the first two weeks of February. Listing then could net San Jose sellers an extra 3.1% (or $53,800 on an average home).
In Austin, Texas, the prime time to list was found to be the last two weeks of March, where sellers could net an extra 2.5% on the price of an average home (or $10,800). Whereas in Baltimore, the prime time to list was in the last two weeks of June, where sellers could net an extra 2% of the average price (or $8,000).
Ranked by percentage of price on the metro area’s average home, the greatest benefits were found in:
- Boston, Massachusetts, where sellers could get an extra 3.4% (or $25,300) by listing in the last two weeks of May.
- Cleveland, Ohio, where sellers could get an extra 3.3% (or $8,100) by listing in the last two weeks of May.
- Columbus, Ohio, where sellers could get an extra 3.1% (or $10,500) by listing in the first two weeks of May.
- Detroit, Michigan, where sellers could get an extra 3.1% (or $8,000) by listing in the last two weeks of May.
- The aforementioned San Jose.
Meanwhile, the metro areas that saw the smallest price benefits were largely found in the Sun Belt, particularly Florida, including:
- Phoenix, Arizona, where home sellers saw a 0.7% ($3,100) benefit from listing in the first two weeks of April.
- Miami, Florida, where home sellers saw a 0.8% ($4,300) benefit from listing in the last two weeks of May.
- Orlando, Florida, where home sellers saw a 0.9% ($3,800) benefit from listing in the last two weeks of May.
- Tampa, Florida, where home sellers saw a 0.9% ($3,900) benefit from listing in the last two weeks of May.
- Houston, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nevada, where home sellers both saw a 1.3% benefit ($4,100 in Houston, $5,900 in Las Vegas) from listing in the first two weeks of May.
For the full report, click here.
