By Laura Mogil for Joe Houlihan, Managing Partner, Houlihan & O'Malley Real Estate Services

Feb. 10, 2016:  Sellers, don't wait for the garden to bloom before putting your house on the market. While many may believe spring is the best time to sell a house, the selling season really starts in mid-January, as Joe Houlihan sees it.

"The cold heart of winter is when serious buyers--those who have made up their mind to move--are out hunting," said Houlihan, managing partner of Houlihan & O'Malley Real Estate Services in Bronxville. He notes that that is especially true in school-driven markets, where families that are relocating plan to enroll their children for the next year.

"If they want their child at a desk in the new district by the beginning of September, they're out there looking by February first," Houlihan observed.

But sellers often are not aware of that.

"They think, 'Let's wait for the tulips to come up, let's wait for the daffodils to bloom.' And that's often too late," Houlihan added.

Putting a home on the market now also gives you the jump on sellers who wait. Many people take their homes off the market for the holidays in order to deal with the season's festivities and activity (which, joyful as they are, can also be a bit chaotic). Then they take the first couple of months of the year to clean up and catch their breath. With supply greatly reduced, the homes that remain on the market will stand out and shine.

A recent study conducted by the real estate website Redfin concluded that if you want to sell for more than your asking price, listing in December, January, February, and March gives you a better chance than listing in June through November.

If your goal is to sell relatively quickly, February is "historically the best month to list, with an average of 66% of homes listed then selling within 90 days," according to the Redfin study. Researchers found that in each of 19 major markets, "Home sellers were better off listing their homes in the winter than during any other season."

But that's not the only reason to jump in now. "Real estate agents, title companies, banks, and lenders have more time to focus on the clients who are active before the rush, so you're more likely to be at the top of their priority list," said Houlihan.

Pictured here:  Joe Houlihan, Managing Partner, Houlihan & O'Malley Real Estate Services

Photo courtesy Houlihan & O'Malley Real Estate Services