Is now a good time to sell a house in Atlanta?
You probably know that the Atlanta real estate market has been red-hot for several years now. Atlanta housing prices have gone up around 283% between 2012 and 2024. Prices have shot up so much here that a study by Florida Atlantic University found Atlanta to be the second most-overpriced city in the nation. Overpricing could mean that fewer and fewer sellers get the kind of profitable offers they could count on just a few years ago.
If you are ready to sell your house, you’re probably wondering if you should put your house on the market now or wait until the busy season. Or you may be trying to sell an inherited house, relocate for a job, or make a quick sale, and you want to know what the odds look like right now.
Let’s talk about the best time of year to sell a house in Atlanta, some tips for selling when the market tends to be slow, and an alternative if you want to sell your house fast in any season.
What months are the best time to sell a house in Atlanta?
They say the data doesn’t lie, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis has excellent data on Atlanta real estate. One great resource they offer is FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data), where you can review all kinds of statistics.
FRED even tracks the median number of days houses in Atlanta stay on the market.
If you look at the data, a clear pattern shows up:
- Houses listed in late spring and early to mid-summer spend the fewest days on the market: As you might have guessed, this has a lot to do with the school year.
- Houses listed in the winter—January in particular—spend the most days on the market: Year after year, winter is a slow selling time.
- Houses listed in the early spring and autumn tend to fall in the middle: If you click on the link above, you will see that the chart looks like a mountain range. The market is hot from April to July, cold in January, and falls somewhere in the middle for the rest of the year. Based on the data, it’s reasonable to assume that the best time to sell a house fast in Atlanta is after February when the market picks up, and before August when the market slows down again. The ideal month can vary slightly, but April, May, and June have consistently been strong choices every year since 2016 (with the exception of 2020, due to COVID-related factors).
Should I sell my Atlanta house now, even though it’s the off season?
It depends on your house and your situation.
Not every home seller can wait until peak months to sell their property. Maybe you need to sell an inherited house with high taxes and maintenance costs, or maybe you need to find a new place to live over the spring and summer months.
In cases like these, you can certainly put your house on the market if you need to. Atlanta houses are bought and sold every single month of the year, sometimes for top dollar.
Here are some ways you can boost your chances of a successful fall or winter sale:
- Add outdoor lighting: Grey skies and early sunsets can make your property a darker place during showings. Spotlights, step lights, and other kinds of outdoor lights can help.
- Clean and declutter: Just like dreary days can affect your curb appeal, winter has a way of making your house’s interior look less welcoming than it might during the spring and summer. Cleaning and organizing your rooms and closets can help a lot.
- Keep the yard in tip-top shape: Keep the leaves raked, the dead branches picked up, and the vines cut back. If it snows, make sure that decks and sidewalks are cleaned up and everything looks good.
- Set the thermostat between 68 to 70 degrees: You may like it warmer or cooler, but this is a safe temperature range for most people.
- Add warm touches to the interior: Plush throw blankets, poinsettias, and a crackling fire in the fireplace can create the right atmosphere for off-season buyers.
- Be mindful of holiday decor: Holiday decorations can be a fantastic accent for your house. Just keep your choices simple, such as a few strands of lights and a seasonal door wreath. Make sure to take everything down by January 2nd.
- Bake something: The aroma of fresh cookies, pastries, or cakes is a nice way to add a cozy, inviting touch to your winter showings. If possible, achieve this effect with actual baking, rather than with scented candles. Candle scents can be too strong for some people, especially those with allergies.
If you’d rather avoid the time-consuming process of getting your house ready for showings, you can get in touch with an off-market buyer like We Buy Ugly Houses®. Off-market buyers are companies that buy houses “as is” all year round. You don’t need to clean, make improvements and repairs, or declutter and stage your house.
How We Buy Ugly Houses® can help Atlanta sellers
We Buy Ugly Houses buys all kinds of properties: turnkey properties, houses that need updates, trailers, condos, rental properties, and more. We’re America’s trusted home buyer and have a 95%* national customer satisfaction rating from sellers who responded to our post-sale survey. You don’t need to ask yourself what the perfect month to list is because we buy houses “as is” every month of the year. We can sometimes close in as little as 3 weeks, and we’ll keep the process fast and simple.
All you need to do to get started is get in touch. We’ll send a local property buyer to your place to do a quick, no-obligation walkthrough and answer any questions you might have. Sometimes we can give you an offer on the same day. Our team is very familiar with the Atlanta housing market and have what they need to make you a fast offer.
So, is it a good time to sell a house in Atlanta? When you work with We Buy Ugly Houses, it always is!
