Texas has a hot housing market. Knowing the best time of the year to sell your house in Texas is key in getting the most value out of your home. When should you make repairs? When should you take photos and stage your home? These are all things you need to consider.
I’ll help you understand the best and worst months to sell a house and the unique sell-to-list ratio of the Texas housing market. This way, you’ll be able to prepare your home, and your budget, properly. Let’s dive right in!
Real Estate Market In Texas
The real estate market in Texas can be wild at times. Housing prices increase 7-percent year over year as demand continues to outstrip supply. Experts are warning that auction-style sales could drive prices up even further.
Average Cost of a House in Texas
Understanding the housing market overview starts with pricing. Home costs are great indicators of the health of a housing market.
Texas home prices rose 15.9 percent year-to-date, which is almost double the usual 7-percent increase. The average cost of a house in Texas is $306,000, but it goes up to over $400,000 in Dallas.
Sale-To-List Ratio in Texas by Month
The sale-to-list ratio is an important metric that we can use to determine the best month of the year to sell a house in Texas. Simply put, the sale-to-list ratio is what the final selling price of a house was compared to what it was listed for.
This ratio is expressed as a percentage. If the percentage is less than 100-percent, then it means that the house sold for less than what it was listed as. Anything above 100-percent means it sold for more.
We can see the best month to sell your home by looking at the housing market overview in Texas using the overall sale-to-list ratio. Remember that these are averages of all the housing sales. Some areas are more expensive than others.
January: 97.4 percent
February: 97.6 percent
March: 97.8 percent
April: 98 percent
May: 98 percent
June: 101 percent
July: 98 percent
August: 97.9 percent
September: 97.7 percent
October: 97.7 percent
November: 97 percent
December: 96.7 percent
As you can see, the springtime is the best time to sell your home in Texas, at least when it comes to offers. Only June gets offers above the asking price, but that’s a different story in metro areas like Dallas and Houston.
Dallas and Fort Worth maintain a healthy 102 percent sale to list ratio year-round, while Houston hovers around 100 percent.
Best Time of the Year to Sell Your House in Texas
Does that mean that June is the best time of year to sell a house in Texas? A lot depends on your location, but also on the type of house you’re selling, any necessary repairs, and other factors.
For example, if you’re hoping, “Sell my house fast Arlington,” your best bet is actually December! People tend to get 5% more for their house that month than they do any other month.
Overall, the best time of year to sell a house in Texas is during the warm weather.
Best Month to Sell Your House in Texas
Because each city in Texas is different, it’s good to take a look at them one by one. This way you can see which are the best months to sell your home.
Austin: December
Corpus Christy: July
Dallas: May
El Paso: July
Galveston: December
Houston: July
San Antonio: May
Austin
The best month to sell your house in Austin, TX is December. The sale-to-list ratio is typically at its highest point then.
Corpus Christy
Meanwhile, the best time to sell a house in Corpus Christi is in July. Home sellers can expect a healthy 4.7-percent above regular prices during this hot month.
Dallas
May is hands-down the best month to sell your house in Dallas. By June the market becomes saturated with sellers, so people who get a jump on the season tend to make off with up to 4-percent over asking.
El Paso
July is the best time to sell your house in El Paso, much like with neighboring Texas cities. However, you should start listing your home in late April so that you can hit that July peak when your house finally closes.
Galveston
December is the best month for home sales in Galveston, TX. This isn’t as strange as it sounds. Nationally, homes that sell in December do quite well. You can expect to get up to 9-percent over the asking price when you sell your house in December!
Houston
July is the best month to sell your house in Houston. That said, Houston is an expensive and unpredictable housing market. Expect prices to fluctuate wildly throughout the year as more people flood into the city looking for homes.
San Antonio
Unlike the rest of Texas, early spring is the best time to sell your home in San Antonio. Aim for early to mid-April if you want to make 4-percent or more above the asking price.
Worst Time of the Year to Sell Your House in Texas
We can see that spring and summer are generally the best time of year to sell your house in Texas. But that doesn’t mean the winter and fall are the worst times to sell your house. Instead, the worst time isn’t seasonal, but situational.
Hurricane Season
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is if there’s a hurricane bearing down on the Gulf. Hurricane season normally happens from September to October, so you should avoid listing your house during that month-long period.
When Your House Needs Work
If your house needs a lot of work, then no season is a good time to sell. The worst time you can sell your house in Texas is when nobody will buy it because it’s falling apart. Fix it up first.
Foreclosure
Another terrible time to sell a home in Texas is during foreclosure proceedings. If you’re trying to get out of foreclosure by selling, you’ll find that you’re out of luck. Not many agents or buyers will touch you.
While it’s going to be much harder, it’s not impossible to sell if any of these situations apply to you. Thankfully, you have some options. Find creative ways to sell a house or search online, “we buy homes Dallas.”
Worst Month of the Year to Sell Your House in Texas
If you’re not in foreclosure and there are no hurricanes about to hit, then you may want to consider avoiding some times of the year to maximize your closing price.
January to March are the worst months to sell your home in Texas. The reasons are simple. People are recovering from the holidays, paying off credit cards, and in no mood to move during the winter.
Of course, that doesn’t apply across the entire state. You’ll want to avoid different months depending on what city you’re selling in.
The Worst Month to Sell Your House By City
Here are the worst months to sell your home by city. There are different factors for each city, but the general trend remains the same. People don’t shop for homes after the holidays.
Austin: January – May
Corpus Christy: February
Dallas: January
El Paso: February
Galveston: May
Houston: January
San Antonio: January
Austin
People in Austin don’t like the winter months. Home sales don’t start picking up until late May. Avoid selling between January and June.
Corpus Christy
February is the worst time to try and sell your house in Corpus Christi. It takes longer, and the sale-to-list ratio is below 90-percent.
Dallas
Avoid selling your home in January if you live in Dallas. People are not interested in buying so soon after the holidays.
El Paso
Like most of Texas, February is the worst time to sell your house in El Paso, TX. Sure you’ll get some offers, but they won’t be as good as they would be if you waited until summer.
Galveston
May is the worst time to sell a home in Galveston. This follows the Austin trend of selling in December and avoiding the spring.
Houston
Houston is normal for Texas. Most people aren’t buying homes in January, so that’s when you’ll want to avoid selling.
San Antonio
Avoid selling your San Antonio home in January. Prices are the lowest and closing times are the longest.
When Will You Sell Your House?
While the winter months tend to be the worst time to sell a house in Texas, it’s not always the case. There are ways that you can get around the winter blues. There are even ways to sell your house in 5 days if you know what you’re doing!
However, the best time to sell your house in Texas is late spring and early summer. Your sale to list ratio will be better, with June being the optimal time in most places. Austin and Galveston buck that trend, and people take to make off better in December.
Four19 Properties can help you sell your home fast if you are looking for a cash home buyer in Texas. Whether it’s the middle of February or your home needs repairs, there’s no reason to not sell your house when it’s time to move.