You have always heard that listing houses for sale in spring and summer was ideal. That is not the case in today’s market. There is less competition and more serious buyers in the winter.

National realty brokerage firm Redfin conducted a study of 1.1 million home listings between 2011 and 2013 in 19 major markets. The data shows houses put on the market in winter had a 9 – 10 percentage point greater probability of selling within 180 days and at a smaller discount to the initial list price.

If you can sell during the off season, in the winter, you may fare better because there are fewer, yet more motivated buyers.