The best month to make an offer on a house is January. Fewer buyers are willing to house-hunt during cold, nasty weather and during the middle of the school year so there’s less competition and few, if any, bidding wars. Sellers also tend to be more motivated than they would be in the spring, when there are more buyers. Why? They may be feeling financially insecure after the holidays when all of their credit card bills start to pour in. Their decision to try to sell their houses in the winter means they’re willing to risk listing during a time of the year when properties tend to not show particularly well.

The best time of the year to sell a house is the spring. Buyers come out of the woodwork during the spring, and with tax refund checks in the bank, spring buyers will, more often than not ,pay full price. Sales peak in the spring, helping to explain why about 60% of those who move do so in the summer.

The best day of the week to list your house for sale is Thursday. This is more true during a seller’s market, but if you list your house for sale on a Thursday, it will be available right away for weekend showings and by Saturday — the most important day of the real-estate week — your house will have shown only two days. That’s important because the fewer days on market, the better chance the home will attract a full-price offer.