How To Prep Your Home for Sale Before the Best Week To Sell

The real estate adage location, location, location, may be true, but there’s another factor that can have a huge impact on your home’s value: when you list.

“Timing is everything when selling your home,” says Minette Schwartz, senior director of luxury sales at The Schwartz Team with Compass. “Listing during your market’s high season can dramatically impact your success, leading to a potentially higher sale price [and] faster closing.”

New research from Realtor.com® reveals that the week of April 13–19 is expected to be the best time to sell in 2025, based on a rigorous analysis of past trends. 

If you want to list your home during this ideal week, here’s how to prepare your home for sale to hit the market when the time is right.

Why list your home April 13–19, 2025?

“Hitting the market at the right moment allows you to capitalize on peak buyer demand,” says Schwartz. Realtor.com data backs her up. Based on past trends, we found that listing during the best week of the year led to the following results:

• Above-average prices: Homes listed during the best week of the year typically list at prices 6.7% higher than the start of the year. If 2025 follows previous years’ trends, the national median list price is expected to be $27,000 higher than it was in January.
• Strong buyer demand: Historical trends reveal that listings during the best week can attract 17.7% more views. While stubbornly high interest rates have dampened demand, the persistence of the 6% benchmark is likely to make some buyers soften to a 6% rate, further increasing demand.
• Quicker sales: Homes typically sell nine days faster than average during the best week of the year. Less time on the market means less time waiting to close.
• Fewer price reductions: Homes listed during the best week of the year have fewer price cuts compared with an average week, leading to more money in sellers’ pockets.

But keep in mind, the best week to list your home for sale might differ for your local market. In some cities, like Boston, the ideal week to list was as early as March 9.

Four-week guide to prepare your home for sale

So, you’ve found the best time to list your home. Now, follow our plan to hit the market at the peak of the season.

Week 1: March 23 – 29

The first week is all about preparation. Make a plan to get your home ready for sale and clear a path to execute it.

Set your timeline

“Be ready to list on Day 1 of the high season,” says Schwartz. “Waiting until the season starts often means missing the optimal window. My most serious sellers start working with me months in advance to create a strategy for the best results.”

While giving yourself several months to prepare your home for sale may be ideal, a majority of home sellers (53%) take about a month to get their home market-ready, according to a survey from Realtor.com.

With this in mind, work backward from your target list date. Create a timeline with key milestones to ensure you stay on track.

Declutter, depersonalize, and deep-clean

When potential buyers walk into your home, they should be able to envision themselves living there. To aid their imagination, create a neutral space by removing any personal items, art, or other splashes of personality, like bright paint colors or murals.

Pack away personal items like knickknacks and pictures. (This will also help you get a jump start on the moving process.) Repaint walls in neutral colors like pale oak or white heron. This will give buyers a blank canvas to paint their futures on.

And don’t forget your home’s exterior. Clean up your curb appeal by cutting back overgrown plants and raking any leaves, says Schwatz.

“Pressure-washing your deck and roof if needed is also a great and easy way to achieve a better first impression.”

Week 2: March 30 – April 5

This week, focus on making any necessary upgrades to help your home shine in listing photos.

Make home repairs and improvements

Move-in ready homes attract more homebuyers. If your home is in need of repairs or updates, a little TLC can go a long way in generating more interest and offers.

Prioritize high-impact and cost-effective upgrades like painting and landscaping. If you have an outdated kitchen, consider renovating. While this home improvement project may be costly, it can also boost your list price by 7%.

Whatever improvements you decide to tackle, it’s best to work with your agent to make a plan. They will be able to advise you on which improvements will have the biggest impact on your home sale, and give you insight into what styles are selling in your neighborhood. 

Week 3: April 6 – 12

With only one week left until your ideal list date, it’s time to focus on marketing. Work with your listing agent to stage your home for listing photos and start generating buzz for your home.

Stage your home

Home staging is another way you can help buyers see themselves living in your house, by decorating it in such a way that maximizes its appeal. This can be as simple as rearranging your furniture to enhance the flow of your home, or it can be as involved as hiring a professional to do the work for you.

A professional home stager not only advises on the best layout for your home, but can also bring in unique pieces of furniture that help paint a picture of living there. However, they can be costly: Most stagers charge $300 to $600 for an initial consultation and up to $600 per month per room to stage a home.

Still, the payoff can be significant: 20% of buyer’s agents said that staging a home increased the dollar value offered between 1% and 5%, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors®.

If staging your entire house is too costly, focus on the areas most important to buyers: the kitchen, primary bedroom, and living room

Get professional photography for online listings

“High-quality photos and an aggressive internet presence are essential because most buyers begin their search online,” says Brett Johnson, licensed real estate agent and owner of New Era Home Buyers.

Don’t skip hiring a professional real estate photographer to get picture-perfect listing photos for your home. These pictures will be the core of your marketing efforts for your home and can lead to increased interest from buyers.

Price your home strategically

“Sellers need to price competitively to create urgency,” says Johnson. This may require some flexibility on behalf of sellers this season, as economic uncertainty hangs over the spring homebuying season.

That uncertainty is all the more reason to list early and list competitively.

“Mortgage rates will always fluctuate, but buyers are always more sensitive to attractive prices,” Johnson adds.

When it comes to setting your listing price, look no further than your real estate agent. As an expert in your local market conditions, they will be able to advise you on what the most competitive number is for your home.

Week 4: April 13 – 19

It’s peak season. If you’ve followed our guide, you’re ready to list your home.

Hit the market

It’s time to put your home up for sale. While this can be a nerve-wracking step, trust the process: You’ve done everything you can to give your home the strongest positioning possible.