February & March are the best months to list a home for sale

February and March are typically the best months to list a home for sale, based on the likelihood that the home goes on to sell successfully. Our analysis looked at millions of properties listed for sale since 2012, excluding 2020 due to the pandemic. 

Nearly seven in 10 homes (66.3%) listed for sale in February and March since 2012 go on to complete a sale, the most out of any month.  

February also has the joint quickest time to find a buyer on average historically, alongside January, at 51 days for a typical home to find a buyer, closely followed by March and April at 52 days. 

In good news for those who have already come to market or are perhaps thinking about coming to market a little later this year, April and January are just fractionally behind February and March as the best months to list a home based on the likelihood to complete.  

It has been an encouraging start to the year for buyer activity, which is positive news for sellers considering coming to market. After the first full month of the year, the number of potential buyers contacting agents about homes for sale is up by 8% compared with the same period last year, and the number of sales being agreed is up by 15%.  

Steve Pimblett, Chief Data Officer at Rightmove says: “These insights should make for encouraging reading for anyone thinking of listing their home for sale soon, as well as anyone who has already come to market this year. The Spring Selling season is traditionally one of the busiest periods of the year for agents, and the signs of buyer activity we’ve been seeing are setting the scene for a positive one this year.”