4 key things you should — and should not — do to get top dollar for your house, according to research

Open the door to bigger profits.

Home prices are on the rise, climbing another 3% year over year, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index from February released this month. Still, that growth is slowing and some experts are predicting that we’re increasingly entering a buyer’s market.

And that means sellers who want to get a premium for their home may have to work for it. So MarketWatch dug into the research and asked experts what really moves the needle to get you a better-than-average price for your home. Here’s what we found.

‘By listing during the week of March 31 to April 6, sellers are able to take advantage of a sweet spot in the season that offers high buyer demand, less competition, quick home sales, and strong price.’

—Realtor.com analysis
Time it right. Don’t try to sell your home in winter, but do try to sell it in the spring. Sellers who sold their homes in June — meaning June was the sale date on the deed of the house, so they likely put the home on the market in spring — got 9.2% more than what their home was valued at, according to data released this month from real estate analytics firm ATTOM Data Solutions.