When Should I Sell My Home?

There are two questions here: Make certain you understand which is being asked.

1. The first question is whether you should sell your home. This is a very personal decision and is something you will likely think about over a long period of time. While significant changes in your life (job transfers, family issues or needs, aging) may happen, most of our clients have been considering selling their home for a significant amount of time.
2. The second question is the one we’ll address in detail below: “What month or time of year should I sell my home?” There is historical data to support certain months being better for selling (improved sale price, fewer days on market, etc.). There are also times when putting your home on the market is NOT going to provide an optimal result because fewer people are looking for homes.

There is no single best month

People often ask when the market peaks. The better question is when selling works for your life, your finances and your home, and whether the market gives you a fair shot at the price you need. Three groups of factors decide that.

What the data says about timing

Here is what happened month by month in King County, based on Northwest MLS (NWMLS) data for houses and condominiums combined. New listings are homes that came on the market during the month. Pending sales are homes that went under contract. Closed sales are homes that finished the sale. The first three columns are 2025, a full year. The next three are 2026 so far.

Note on the last column: it is the median days on market for King County, from NWMLS data compiled by InfoSparks (ShowingTime), data as of November 9, 2026. The median is the middle home: half were faster and half took longer, so a few very slow homes do not skew it.

King County, houses and condominiums combined, by month

Month	New listings 2025	Pending 2025	Closed 2025	New listings 2026	Pending 2026	Closed 2026	Median days on market (2025 / 2026)
January	2,533	1,810	1,181	2,694	1,735	1,099	31 / 42
February	2,571	2,087	1,516	2,968	1,945	1,364	9 / 16
March	3,408	2,662	1,991	3,750	2,493	1,878	7 / 10
April	4,052	2,524	2,127	4,414	2,416	2,053	6 / 10
May	4,909	2,768	2,180	4,429	2,549	2,074	7 / 10
June	3,960	2,668	2,332	4,165	2,390	2,183	10 / 13
July	3,552	2,506	2,296	4,124	2,168	2,022	13 / 15
August	2,822	2,294	2,073	3,416	2,101	1,791	18 / 20
September	3,725	2,487	1,952	4,204	2,072	1,714	21 / 22
October	2,953	2,228	2,144	3,132	1,831	1,756	18 / 18
November	1,573	1,742	1,613	not yet	not yet	not yet	22 / not yet
December	987	1,310	1,582	not yet	not yet	not yet	31 / not yet
January to October total	34,485	24,034	19,792	37,296	21,700	17,934	—
2025 full year total	37,045	27,086	22,987

What to notice

• Spring is the busiest season on both sides. In 2025, new listings peaked in May (4,909) and pending sales peaked in May (2,768). Closed sales peaked in June (2,332), after contracts written in the spring.
• Winter has far fewer listings, but buyers do not disappear. In November 2025, 1,573 homes were listed and 1,742 went under contract. In December, 987 were listed and 1,310 went under contract. In May, by comparison, 4,909 were listed and 2,768 went under contract. Fewer competing listings does not automatically mean a better price, so the count of listings is only one input.
• So far in 2026 the pattern is different. In every month from January through October, fewer homes went under contract and fewer closed than in the same month of 2025, while new listings were higher in nine of the ten months (May was lower). For January through October combined, new listings were up about 8 percent, pending sales were down about 10 percent and closed sales were down about 9 percent (calculated from the table).
• Homes took longer to sell in 2026. The median days on market was higher than in the same month of 2025 in every month through September, and equal in October (18 days). For example, April was 10 days versus 6, June was 13 versus 10 and August was 20 versus 18. The seasonal pattern shows in both years: the median was shortest in spring (6 to 10 days from March through May) and longest in winter (31 days in December 2025 and 42 in January 2026).
• The data does not point to a single best month. Early in the year provides sellers with less competition as there are few listings and many buyers start their search in the beginning of the year. Spring has the most buyers and the most competing listings. Late fall and winter have fewer of both. Which tradeoff favors you depends on your home, your price and your timeline.

Sources: NWMLS 2025 Annual Statistical Review and Highlights, King County (nwmls.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/King-AnnualReview2025.pdf); NWMLS monthly recaps and King County breakouts, January to October 2026 (nwmls.com); InfoSparks (ShowingTime), NWMLS median days on market, King County, data as of November 9, 2026. 2026 figures run through October. November and December 2026 are not yet available.

Some guidelines that will help you make better decisions

Your life

• A job change, retirement, a growing or shrinking household, or a health or care need often sets the date for you.
• Where you will live next, and how long you will need to move, matters as much as the sale itself.
• If you need the proceeds to buy your next home, build in time for both transactions.

Your finances

• Equity. After a sale you pay off your mortgage and selling costs. Ask for a net sheet that shows what you would actually take home.
• Taxes. Generally, if you have owned and lived in the home for a total of 24 months in the five years before the sale, you can exclude up to $250,000 of profit, or $500,000 if married filing jointly. Rules have conditions, so check with a CPA. For the details, see IRS Publication 523.
• Carrying costs. Every month you wait has mortgage, tax, insurance and upkeep costs.

The market

• Inventory and pace. More homes for sale and slower sales give buyers more leverage. See our post, How Are Home Values Doing in Our Area, and Why?, for current numbers.
• Interest rates. Rates affect what buyers can pay. Waiting for a better rate is a bet, not a plan.
• Season. Spring is typically busy, but a well-prepared and well-priced home can sell at other times, and there may be fewer competing listings in off-peak months.

Your home

• A major repair coming up, such as a roof, sewer line or crawl space problem, is better handled before listing than discovered by a buyer.
• If you are not ready to prepare the home, waiting a few months to do it right can pay for itself.

A simple timing check

Ask yourself: When do I need to be out? How long will preparation take? What do I need to net? What are comparable homes doing right now? A walk-through with an agent turns those questions into a plan.

Related reading: What Is My Home Worth, and How Is the Listing Price Set? | I Found a Home I Love for Retirement, but I Don't Know if Mine Will Sell

From Our Own Experience

Trying to time the real estate market is like trying to time the stock market: You’ll never get it exactly right. However, there are times when there are advantages to selling your home. We have had good success with clients who can sell their homes in the early part of the calendar year. We believe that this is due to the following:

• Pent up buyer demand that releases in the new year (after the holidays)
• Buyers who have goals to buy in the new year
• Buyers who wish to take advantage of the fiscal, investment or tax benefits of owning a home (holiday gatherings and discussions often focus on these; parents often being key in these discussions)

While seller-centric, we have also encountered sellers who want to have “one last holiday” in their home before putting it on the market.

Thinking about selling in the Seattle Area?

Kelly Azzarello Real Estate | Compass
Email: kelly@kellyazzarello.com
Phone: (425) 830-6457
Web: www.kellyazzarello.com
Instagram: instagram.com/kellyazzarello
YouTube: youtube.com/kellyazzarellorealestate

This post is general information about real estate topics. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and it does not replace a professional inspection. Rules and practices differ by situation and change over time. Check current requirements and talk with a licensed professional, such as an inspector, contractor, attorney or CPA, about your own property.

Tax: Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and changes over time. Consult a CPA or tax professional about your situation.