Why Winter is the BEST Time to Sell Your Toronto Home (And Why I Time All My Sales for January & February)

By Jacquie Othen
Published: February 2026

Are you thinking of selling your home this year? I'm going to tell you when I sell MY homes and why I'll keep doing it this way until I have my last piece of real estate to sell. After almost 15 years selling real estate in Toronto, I can tell you with absolute certainty: winter is hands-down my favorite time to sell homes. Whether it's my personal residence or investment properties, there's no better season.

I know what you're thinking. "Jacquie, the weather's crummy. Who wants to deal with showings in February?" Trust me, I hear you. But I'm not talking about weather. I'm talking about market conditions. And those conditions? They're absolutely in your favor.

Watch: My Honest Take on Winter Selling

Prefer to read? Full breakdown below.

Why is Winter the Best Time to Sell a Home in Toronto?

Winter is the best time to sell in Toronto because there's far less competition. When there are fewer options for buyers to choose from, your home becomes the rare jewel instead of one of 50 listings competing in the same neighborhood. Serious buyers who are actively looking in January and February will show up even in snowstorms because inventory is scarce and they're motivated to act.

Here's the thing: in the spring, you've got way more competition.

When it's really pretty and beautiful outside, everybody and their brother is listing their home. Buyers have options. They have choices. And by default, that creates analysis paralysis. They might not like your house. They might go to the other house because it's a better option. Or there are so many options that buyers freeze and can't make a decision.

But if you want to be the jewel, the one rare listing that's up, I'm going to tell you there aren't that many listings in the wintertime. But boy oh boy, do they stand out.

The Snowstorm Open House (True Story)

A couple weeks ago, I was open housing in a dreadful snowstorm. Everybody was probably sitting at home by their fireplace or hanging around doing house stuff. I was at an open house that had to be snowblowed IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OPEN HOUSE. Completely crazy. Getting it ready while people were trying to come in. And I knew I was actually going to have buyers attend. How did I know that? Because I've been doing this for almost 15 years. When there's a beautiful home and that major lack of inventory, serious buyers are going to come out.

Not looky-loos. In the spring, you get a lot of looky-loos. People who are just thinking about the idea of buying real estate, maybe going out to look. You're going to get a whole lot of people through your house that are not actually going to buy. That creates stress and aggravation. You're constantly going in and out of the house to make way for buyers. And you'll start to see the feedback sounds the same: "Buyers are just starting out. Buyers are just starting out."

In January and February? You get serious buyers.

Why Do Homes Sell for Higher Prices in Winter?

Coming out of the gate into every new year, there's really peak pricing. I'm going to tell you: when there's little inventory and you're priced right and you look great, odds are you're going to have a record price. I can attest to that because I got a record sale for one of my properties that I precisely timed for that period of time. And when we get to May and June and agents look back and analyze that data, we're kind of sitting there going, "Oh wow, that's a price that cannot be defended right now."

Why? Because more competition means people have choices. They're not buying with a frenzy. They're not paying record prices. Prices start to settle down in the spring and summer months. So if you're going to sell in the wintertime, in January or February at the highest peak of the marketplace, you absolutely need to pay attention to your closing date.

What Closing Date Should You Set When Selling in Winter?

If I'm selling my home in February and I know I'm going to get an aggressive price for it because I've got everything set up to ensure I'm successful (my house is staged right, it's priced right, and there hasn't been a lot of inventory I'm competing against), the one thing I don't want to do is sell my house for a record price and have it collapse.

What do I mean by that? Short closings. And heavy deposits.

Here's why: The bank is going to come in and appraise that property on behalf of your buyer. And if there's inventory from March or April or May and the prices have come down, that may not help you get appraisal value for your home.

Why do you care about the appraisal value?

Because buyers depend on it to be able to secure their financing if they are not an all-cash buyer. The valuations that come in January or February are usually prices that cannot be later defended as things start to slow down. More competition means buyers have choices. Sometimes prices start to settle down. Not sometimes. Often. So if you're going to sell in the wintertime at peak pricing, you want to make sure that your closing is short.

My rule: 60-90 days maximum. Don't sell in February and close in June. It's not worth the risk.

Deposits Matter Too

Deposits are consideration given to you once your home is sold. They're typically in the city of Toronto about 5%, sometimes more, very rarely less. And on our team, we do a really good job of being able to collect as much as possible to protect the seller's interests.

That deposit doesn't come to you when you're selling your home. It goes and sits in your realtor's trust account. But having a low deposit and someone who pays a really high price for your home that may not be able to be defended down the line? That's a recipe for failure.

We started to see this happen during the recessions where people would put a low deposit and feel quite comfortable to walk away from it and start again. You don't need a deal that is stressful. You don't want to have to go back and sue people to be able to force them to close on your home. Get more money up front with your deposit. 5% or more. And a shorter versus longer closing so that their financing is rock solid, it's concrete, and your closing goes off nice and smoothly.

Start Looking BEFORE You Sell

If you're selling in the winter months, I would say you should have been looking to have an idea and sense of where you are going.

Why? Because now you've got money. You're going to get a really great deal. You don't want to start from the ground up to figure out where you're going, where your family might end up. Yes, you're going to have a lot of money in your hand. And you're going to have potentially a very short closing. You want to make sure that you are familiar with the pricing. You know exactly where you want to go. Because inventory has been slim for many, many years. You don't want to start from ground zero.

If you're contemplating selling, before you put your home on the market, make sure that you make a plan. Strategy beats panic every time.

But What About the Cold? (Let's Talk About the Cons)

Now, some of you watching this are only thinking about the cons to selling in winter. You don't want to be leaving the comfort of your home in the wintertime to accommodate showings. Or you're going to say, "My house can get a little drafty, it's a little cool." Well, so are many houses. It is just colder inside your home as it is in the wintertime.

How Do You Prepare a Home for Winter Showings?

We're going to want to adjust the thermostat to make sure that the home is nice and comfortable. But in the wintertime, fireplaces are beautiful. They can actually be run to create this beautiful romantic environment or cozy environment that gives buyers this feeling of instant warmth when they walk through your home.

We don't want to be naive. It may not be the most optimal time for people to be in their homes from a weather perspective. So we just want to overcompensate by making the home feel very cozy and very warm. Not necessarily make it really hot and sweaty. That's not what I'm talking about. We just want to create an ambient environment for people that is comfortable.

The Basement That Tried to Freeze My Toes Off

In Toronto, some basements are freezing cold even in the summertime. So they're going to be cooler in the wintertime. We have to adjust the thermostat or get an HVAC company in to make sure that your freezer-like basement is not a freezer-like basement in the wintertime. That can leave people feeling super chilled and super unhappy.

I was at a house the other day and my feet were literally... my toes were falling asleep as I was touring the basement. I was like, "This is not going to work for my clients." Then I went up to check the thermostat and the house was set to 24 degrees. Which is crazy hot. So if you're running it at 24 and the basement is still freezing cold, it's probably not the house for you. Unless you're planning to rip apart that basement, re-insulate it, and start again.

Shorter Days Are Actually a Good Thing

The other thing to think about in the wintertime: the days are shorter. Yes, it does get darker.

A lot of your showings will take place in the daylight. You'll notice that there's not a lot of this 7:30, 8 o'clock showings happening in the evening. And honestly? That's amazing. If you've got young kids and you know that's going to be an annoyance for you because your kid's bedtime is 7:30 or 8 o'clock and you don't want people hanging around, winter is an amazing time to sell your home because you don't often get people coming in for night showings.

Why not? Because they want to see your home and how much natural light it gets. You tend to get heavier daytime and morning showings, particularly on the weekend. I can't tell you the last time I had a listing that had a 7:30 or 8 p.m. showing in the wintertime. Hardly ever happens.

I don't love night showings.

I don't want to be out in the winter time or in the summertime trying to kill time to accommodate an eight o'clock showing that may not even arrive on time. Because agents are notoriously late and disrespectful at times. They don't come to your home when they say they're going to. Can you imagine having little kids and trying to take them out here and there so that the agent who was supposed to be out of your house by 8:30 (or now 9 o'clock, or now 9:30) is still in your driveway or in your living room?

Not having it. Wintertime, I'm telling you, for so many good reasons including this one, it's the best time to sell your home.

Make Sure Your Lighting is Right

Knowing that it gets lighter earlier, you want to make sure that you have a lot of layers of lighting. Not just your overhead lighting, not your chandelier, or not your light fixture in your bedrooms. You want to make sure that you've got layered lighting. Lamps, accent lighting in all of the rooms to create, again, a warm, ambient environment for your buyers to feel good and comfortable. And also making sure, especially in the wintertime, that your front porch is well lit. Once they come through the door, they're not sort of feeling around in the dark for light switches. Have the lights set so people can come in.

In the summertime, that's a non-issue because it's super bright. Even if your home doesn't get a lot of sunlight by default, when you walk into a home right up until sometimes 8:30 or 9 o'clock, it's perfectly bright out. But in winter? Layers of lighting. Front porch well lit. Entry lights on before showings. Curtains open to maximize any natural light.

The Snow Removal Reality

I'm going to throw another con at you because I think this is one that a lot of you right now, especially with the winters we've had in Toronto, it's a real one. It is a lot more work for the exterior envelope of your home when you're selling in the winter. That is 100% reality, especially in winters that are heavy. Sometimes we get away with really light winters, but when the winter is heavy, there is more time that is going to be spent preparing your home on the outside. Salting, shoveling.

You're not going to have time to pack the kids into the car or the minivan while you're trying to shovel or your husband's trying to salt everything. It's just not fun. So a little bit more work.

Here's how to make it through: You're going to do that in the evening. Remember, your showings are not going to be coming in until 8 or 9 o'clock at night. So once the kids are up to bed, you can go and clear up the walkway, shovel, ice, get it ready so that in the morning you're just doing a touch-up. That is the way to make it through winter selling. Again, I don't want to be dismissive about it. It is more work. But I think you can survive it with a good plan in advance or with the help of a professional realtor assisting you. Maybe hire a snow removal service during your listing period if you've got a heavy winter. Is it more work? Yes. Is it worth it for the premium price you'll get? Absolutely.

So When is the "Best" Time to Sell?

Maybe you've made it this far and I have not convinced you that the wintertime is the best time to sell. I don't want to convince anyone because I'm going to say truly the best time to sell your home (not MY homes) is when you are good and ready and comfortable and when your home is ready.

That's just the recipe that I use. It has worked beautifully for years and I will continue to exercise it until I have my last real estate to sell because it works beautifully for my family and myself. But if that timing doesn't work for you, it's all about strategy no matter the season. Spring, summer, fall, or winter. It's what you need and it's making a plan with an incredible strategy that is going to ensure that you are successful no matter the season that you're selling.

Ready to Talk Strategy?

Whether you're selling this winter, spring, or just exploring your options, we can help.

Our team has helped hundreds of Toronto families navigate their home sales with expert pricing, professional staging guidance, and marketing that gets results.

Find out what your home could sell for in today's market and the exact strategy to get you there. No obligation. No pressure. Just honest advice.

 

Frequently Asked Questions About Winter Selling

Is it harder to sell a home in winter?

Not if you do it right. While there are fewer buyers in winter, there's also WAY less competition. The buyers who are looking in January and February are serious and motivated, not the casual looky-loos you get in spring. With proper pricing and staging, winter can actually be the BEST time to sell.

What's the biggest mistake sellers make in winter?

Setting a long closing date. If you get a premium price in February but don't close until June, your buyer's appraisal might not support the price if the market softens. Keep closings to 60-90 days maximum when selling in peak winter months.

How do I make my home appealing in winter?

Focus on warmth and light. Run your fireplace, adjust thermostats to comfortable levels (not crazy hot like 24°C), use layered lighting with lamps not just overhead lights, and make sure your basement isn't freezing. Also, keep walkways clear of snow and ice. First impressions start at the curb.

Should I wait until spring to list my home?

It depends on your situation. Spring has more buyers but also MUCH more competition. If your home is ready to go now and you want less competition and potentially higher prices, winter could be your sweet spot. The key is working with an agent who knows how to market effectively in any season.

How much deposit should I expect from a winter buyer?

In Toronto, standard deposits are around 5% of the purchase price. In winter when you're getting premium pricing, you want AT LEAST 5%, ideally more. This protects you if market conditions shift before closing. A strong deposit signals a committed buyer.

Last Updated: February 2026