I’m often asked when is the best time to list a house. The answer might be surprising. Many people feel that the spring market is the best time to list a home to get the most value. Well, I disagree. January is the absolute best time to list your house.

Here’s why. The visits to realtor.ca increase significantly over the holidays and many people make a new year’s resolution to buy a new home or change their living situation (ie get a divorce). Then January hits and you have these buyers who are anxious to make a move with nothing to buy. Then the second week of January hits and they have this pent up desire to buy something – anything. During those first couple of weeks in January, there isn’t a lot of inventory to choose from. So when that first house comes on the market in January, all of those buyers pounce, create a larger bidding war then usual which thereby drives up the price.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that the properties that come on the market during the last half of January fare the best, garner the most offers and therefore the highest price. By the time the spring market begins, there is so much more competition for the same amount of buyers so sellers don’t always fare as well as those who came on the market in January. So if you are in the market to sell and want the biggest bang for your buck, January is your month.