Common knowledge has it that spring is always the best time to sell your house: More listings attract more buyers; houses then sell for more and sell more quickly.
But when you look at data for Stratford, Ontario, to see how each season performed, the truth is less clear:
Row Labels. | How much more or less houses sold for than the yearly average | Average number of houses that sold. | Average number of days till a sale. |
Fall | -0.5% | 109 | 49 |
Spring | 0.6% | 139 | 42 |
Summer | 2.4% | 134 | 44 |
Winter | -2.5% | 75 | 59 |
For the past twenty-fiveyears. Houses actually sold for a little more on average in the summer months in Stratford; however, there were more sales in spring, indicating more to choose from, and things went a little quicker, meaning fewer showings and less disruption.
Most people don’t sell their house every year (we would love to work with you if you did), so you can’t spread it out; it’s a one-time event. So, this begs the question: how consistently is each season different than the others? The chart below shows, over the past twenty-five years, how many times each season was the best.
Years when houses sold for the most | Years when the most houses were sold | Year where days on market were the lowest | |
Fall | 8 | 0 | 4 |
Spring | 6 | 16 | 16 |
Summer | 9 | 10 | 7 |
Winter | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Here, we see a different story: in some years, fall was the best season to sell your house. Some years spring was. Some summer. Consistently, winter underperforms, and this makes sense. Fewer people want to move in the winter.
So, is this spring of 2026 the best time to sell your house? The truthful answer is that we will only know in 2027 when we look back.
Selling your house is different from, say, selling stocks, where you can pick up the phone or press a button and carry on with your day. It depends on life circumstances. Often, the best time to sell your house is when it is most convenient for you. Especially since it's not a sure thing which season will be better.
While seasons matter, broader economic factors like interest rates often play a bigger role in any single year than the season does. Professional, experienced service like ours can ensure you get top dollar for your home and stand out in any season.
Source: CREA, Canadian Real Estate Association unit statistics,
As always, you can give me a call/text at 519-301-2214. Or email me at [email protected]
Our sales activity in February:
59 Princess—Sold