Blog > Best Month to Sell a House in Los Altos: 14 Years of Sales, Month by Month
Best Month to Sell a House in Los Altos: 14 Years of Sales, Month by Month
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When do Los Altos homes sell best? We sorted the 4,747 Los Altos sales that closed from January 2012 through December 2025, as reported to the MLS with repeat records removed, by the month they closed. April closings sold over asking most often: in an average year, 73.0% of them went over, against 46.3% of January closings.
The short answer
- Most bidding: April closings (73.0% sold over asking, median sale-to-list 106.6%), then March (70.9%) and May (67.9%).
- Least bidding: January (46.3% over asking, median sale-to-list 102.2%), then August (54.3%).
- Price per square foot: highest against the same year’s median in April (+2.9%) and lowest in January (−8.0%).
- Busiest month: June, with 11.9% of a typical year’s closings; the slowest is January (3.3%).
- Seasons: March–May closings averaged 70.6% over asking, September–November 59.7% and December–February 55.6%.
- Timing a listing: closing usually comes about a month after the accepted offer, and the home was on the market before that, so an April closing typically means an accepted offer in March, with the listing before that.
Month by month
Each figure is worked out year by year for the month, then averaged over 2012–2025, so a hot year like 2021 or a cool one like 2023 counts once. The strongest month is in bold. January had 13 usable years.
| Closing month | Sold over asking | Median sale-to-list | Price/sq ft vs. that year | Share of year’s sales | Sales, 2012–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46.3% | 102.2% | −8.0% | 3.3% | 155 |
| February | 65.4% | 104.3% | −4.1% | 4.7% | 223 |
| March | 70.9% | 105.8% | +2.1% | 8.2% | 391 |
| April | 73.0% | 106.6% | +2.9% | 9.3% | 447 |
| May | 67.9% | 105.2% | −0.2% | 11.1% | 521 |
| June | 67.1% | 105.1% | +0.3% | 11.9% | 561 |
| July | 61.4% | 103.1% | −0.4% | 10.4% | 496 |
| August | 54.3% | 102.4% | −1.1% | 8.7% | 412 |
| September | 58.3% | 103.2% | +1.5% | 8.8% | 409 |
| October | 63.8% | 103.7% | +1.3% | 9.5% | 452 |
| November | 57.0% | 102.8% | −1.1% | 8.4% | 402 |
| December | 55.0% | 102.9% | +2.0% | 5.8% | 278 |
If you’re buying
The flip side: January closings went over asking least often (46.3%) and sold at −8.0% per square foot against the year’s median, the lowest of any month. The catch is choice. January brings only 3.3% of a typical year’s closings, against 11.9% in June.
Reading it right
- Closing month isn’t listing month. The calendar is by closing date, which trails the offer by about a month.
- Averages, not a promise. Any one year can break the pattern, and the homes for sale and buyers in your price range at the time matter too.
- The mix changes. Different homes sell in different months, so part of a month’s price per square foot is which homes sold, not only demand.
- All home types. Houses, condos and townhomes are counted together.
- Not a forecast or the value of any one home.
How we counted
Closed sales reported to the MLS in Los Altos, January 2012 to December 2025: houses, condos and townhomes, with repeat records removed and sales under 50% or over 200% of list left out. For each closing month, the share sold over asking and the median sale-to-list ratio are worked out year by year (a month needs at least 8 sales in a year to count) and then averaged. Price per square foot is each month’s median against the same year’s median, averaged across years. Sales share is the share of each year’s sales that closed in that month, averaged across years with 60 or more sales.
Go deeper
Best Month to Sell shows this calendar for every city we cover. Los Altos Hills has too few sales in most months for a year-by-year calendar; the same page shows its pooled numbers. Before you list, the Prep Lab helps get the house ready, the Launch Lab plans how it goes on the market, and the Seller Playbook walks through the whole sale. For Los Altos, see where homes sell over asking, neighborhood by neighborhood; the Los Altos city guide links every guide, and our sales map shows the homes we’ve sold there.
Common questions
What is the best month to sell a house in Los Altos?
By closing month, April. In an average year from 2012 to 2025, 73.0% of Los Altos sales that closed in April went over asking, the most of any month, against 46.3% in January. Closing usually comes about a month after the accepted offer, so the listing goes up earlier.
When is the best time to buy a house in Los Altos?
If you want less competition, January: closings that month went over asking least often (46.3%) and sold at −8.0% per square foot against the year’s median. The trade-off is choice, since January brings only 3.3% of a typical year’s closings.
Do Los Altos homes sell for more in spring?
They draw more bidding: March–May closings went over asking 70.6% of the time on average, against 55.6% for December–February. Part of the gap is which homes sell in each season, not only demand.
The Los Altos data series: housing market by the numbers · neighborhoods ranked by price per sq ft · where homes sell over asking · ten years of prices by neighborhood · condos and townhomes · house prices by bedrooms · houses under $4M · houses at $7.5M and up · our sales map
Planning a sale in Los Altos?
A Property Nerd can show what homes like yours have sold for, month by month, and build your prep and launch around the season. Call (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or book a strategy call. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.