When Is the Best Time to Buy, Sell or Move in St. Louis?

Best Time to Buy, Sell or Move, Answered

From MARIS InfoSparks, St. Louis County residential sales, monthly, January 2021 through September 2026 (data as of October 27, 2026). Monthly figures are 2023–2025 averages unless noted. See the table ↓

What is the best time to move in St. Louis?

It depends on whether you’re buying, selling or both. The data supports buying in November: about half the spring competition and homes that sit three times longer. Selling peaks in spring, when demand and the median price peak. Most moves land in summer, because June through August held about 10% of each year’s closings apiece across 2023–2025, compared with 5.4% in January. A financed sale usually closes 30 to 45 days after the contract, so plan the move from the contract date. Planning a move date ↓

What is the best month to sell a house in St. Louis?

March or April. Across 2023–2025, St. Louis County homes averaged 10.5 to 10.8 showings per listing in March and April, about twice December’s 5.1, and went under contract in a median 6 to 7 days from April through July. Showings peaked in March or April in all five years from 2021 to 2025. If your house has something you can’t change, like a slab foundation, a busy road or a highway behind it, that’s even more reason to list when the most buyers are looking. If you have to sell before you buy, list around February. Why spring favors sellers ↓

What is the best month to buy a house in St. Louis?

November, if you want the least competition. From November through January, showings per listing average 5.1 to 7.9, roughly half the spring peak, and homes sit a median 14 to 22 days, about three times longer than in spring. The catch: you may not find your house that month, and a lease or job can decide your timing for you. December brings less than half of May’s new listings. How buyers use the slow months ↓

Do home prices go down in winter in St. Louis?

Yes, but less than the headlines suggest. Homes closing in January and February, mostly negotiated in November and December, ran about 9% below the yearly trend in price per square foot, and June closings about 9% above it, from 2021 to 2026. The median sale price swings more, about 35%, because bigger, pricier homes sell in summer. How much cheaper winter really is ↓

When do homes sell fastest in St. Louis?

April through July. The median home went under contract in 6 to 7 days those months across 2023–2025, compared with 19 to 22 days in December through February. See every month ↓

St. Louis County, Month by Month

Each row averages 2023, 2024 and 2025. Prices are by the month the sale closed, so the deal itself was usually made a month or so earlier.

Going back to 2021 doesn’t change the shape. Showings per listing peaked in March or April every year from 2021 to 2025. The median sale price peaked on June or July closings every year and hit its low in January or February. 2026 has followed the same path so far: showings peaked at 9.6 in March, homes sold in a median 7 days from April through July, and the median price peaked at $348,900 in June.

Spring Is When Sellers Have the Most Buyers

March and April averaged 10.5 and 10.8 showings per listing across 2023–2025. December averaged 5.1. That’s twice as many buyers walking through each house in spring.

Homes listed into that crowd move fast. From April through July, the median home went under contract in 6 to 7 days. Contracts written in April and May close in June and July, which are the peak price months every year.

Here’s how I’d use that:

• Be on the market by March or April if your timeline is flexible. That’s when the most buyers are looking at each listing.
• If you have to sell before you buy, list around February. You catch the demand as it builds, without carrying two mortgages, and you can buy as spring inventory comes on.
• If your house has something you can’t change, list into the peak. A slab foundation, a condo, a busy road, a highway or a mall behind it all shrink the pool of buyers who will consider it. Spring puts it in front of the most buyers, which gives you the best chance of finding the ones who don’t care.
• Don’t waste the first weekend. In a busy spring market, buyers who don’t like your price simply buy the next house. What your first weekend is telling you →

Spring also brings the most competing listings. New listings climb from 6.2% of the year’s total in January to 10.2% in May. Your house is competing with more houses, so price and condition matter more, not less.

Fall and Winter Give Buyers Room to Negotiate

From November through January, showings per listing averaged 5.1 to 7.9, about half the spring peak. Homes sat a median 14 to 22 days, roughly three times as long as in spring. A house that has been on the market for three weeks in December is a normal winter listing, not a problem house.

The data supports buying in November. The catch is that you may not find your house then. December brought 4.8% of the year’s new listings, less than half of May’s 10.2%. And real life sets a lot of timelines: a lease ending, a job start, a school year. You buy when the right house and your circumstances line up, and the season tells you how much competition to expect when they do.

How I’d time a purchase depends on the buyer:

• Stretching your budget in a competitive price range? Wait for fall, or look at listings that have sat.
• A strong borrower in a price range with options? Fall or spring can both work.
• Buying and selling at the same time? Buy in spring and sell in summer. Is now a good time to buy →

Buying in spring on a budget

Spring is when demand and the median price both peak. If you don’t like competition, that’s not the time to buy. If spring is when you have to buy, know the market is in full force and don’t max out your budget on list price. Move your search $25,000 to $50,000 below what you can spend.

That’s what we did with Roy and Karen. Their budget was $350,000, and we focused on homes well below it. That room let them cover the commission themselves when the sellers wouldn’t, then keep the same offer when the sellers called for highest and best. They were all in at $323,000, commission included, and they were some of the strongest buyers in that pool. How Roy and Karen got the house →

Homes that sit give you leverage in any season. How I offer on a house that’s been sitting →

How Much Cheaper Is Winter, Really?

The median sale price makes winter look like a clearance sale: about $219,000 on January closings and $311,000 on June closings, averaged over 2023–2025. Most of that is not the same house getting cheaper. More of the bigger, pricier homes sell in summer, and smaller homes make up more of the winter sales.

Price per square foot takes out most of the size difference. I compared each month with that year’s overall price trend, so normal appreciation doesn’t make December look more expensive than January:

January and February closings ran about 9% below trend, and June closings about 9% above. That’s a real seasonal swing of roughly 20%, not the 35% the median price suggests. Even price per square foot still mixes in condition and location, and summer sales lean toward move-in-ready homes, so treat 20% as the upper end.

Summer Is Moving Season

June, July and August each held about 10% of the year’s closings across 2023–2025. January held 5.4%. More St. Louis moves happen in summer than in any other season, because spring is when the most contracts are written.

If you need a specific move date, work backward. A financed sale usually closes 30 to 45 days after the contract, so a mid-July move means a contract in late May or early June. If your date is flexible, January and February have the fewest closings of the year.

Moving in the same week you close takes planning. When can I move in after closing →

What These Numbers Can’t Tell You

These are countywide medians. Your price range and school district can run on a different clock:

• Price range: in 2026, homes under $200,000 drew far less competition than homes from $250,000 up. Competition by price range →
• School district: showings by month varied widely across the county’s 22 districts in 2026. Month by month for each district →
• The house itself: a move-in-ready home in a popular area can draw multiple offers in January, and an overpriced one can sit in April.

Use the calendar to set expectations. Use the comparable sales and the first weekend to set the price.

More Questions About Timing a Move

Timing your sale

When should I sell if my house has an issue I can’t fix?

In spring, when demand peaks. A slab foundation, a condo, a busy road, or a highway or mall nearby narrows the pool of buyers who will consider the house. Listing in March or April puts it in front of the most buyers, which gives you the best chance of finding the ones who don’t mind.

When are the most homes for sale in St. Louis?

New listings peak in May, about 10% of the year’s total, and bottom out in December at 4.8% (2023–2025 averages). More listings mean more choice for buyers, but they also mean more competition for sellers.

When should I list if I’m selling and buying at the same time?

If you need to sell first, I usually suggest listing at the end of winter, around February. If you’re buying first, buy in spring and sell in summer. Buying and selling at the same time →

Should I wait until spring to sell?

If your timeline allows it, spring brings more buyers and more room for mistakes. If you’re relocating, carrying two houses or need to move, a winter plan built around your timeline is the better answer. Selling in fall or winter →

Buying in spring

How do I compete in spring on a tight budget?

Know the market is in full force, and don’t max out your budget on list price. Search $25,000 to $50,000 below what you can spend, so you have room when other buyers push the price up. That’s what Roy and Karen did: on a $350,000 budget, they were all in at $323,000 and were some of the strongest buyers in that pool. How Roy and Karen did it →

Is spring or fall better for buyers?

Fall and winter bring less competition; spring and summer bring more homes and more competition. If you don’t like competition, spring isn’t the time to buy. Is now a good time to buy →

Reading the numbers

Why does the median price drop so much in winter?

Partly because different homes sell. From 2021 to 2026 the median sale price swung about 35% between January and June closings, but price per square foot swung about 20%. Larger and more expensive homes make up more of the summer sales, which pulls the summer median up.

Does the closing month tell you when the deal was made?

No. A financed sale usually closes 30 to 45 days after the contract, so June closings were mostly negotiated in April and May, and January closings in November and December. Plan around the contract month, not the closing month.

Will this pattern hold next year?

The timing has held every year since at least 2021: showings peaked in March or April, prices peaked in June or July, and the longest market times came in December or January. Rates and inventory move the overall level from year to year, so read it as a pattern, not a forecast.