You Didn't Miss the Spring Selling Window. The Best Part Is Still Ahead.

Why Zillow's late-May sweet spot matters more in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach than the national headlines let on.

Heard April 12-18 was the "best week" to list, and now you're wondering if you blew it? You didn't. The strongest stretch of the coastal OC spring market is still in front of you.

There Isn't One Best Week. There's a Window.

Different research outfits run different studies, with different methods, and they almost never land on the same week. Realtor.com pointed at mid-April. Zillow's latest analysis points at the last two weeks of May. ATTOM Data, looking at roughly 47 million home sales over the past decade, identifies May as the strongest month for seller premiums.

The takeaway isn't that one of them is right. It's that the entire spring is a window, and the back half of May sits inside one of the better stretches.

Why Late May Tends to Win

Zillow's reasoning is straightforward: late spring is when motivation and momentum meet. Buyer demand peaks before Memorial Day. Families want to move over the summer and settle before the new school year. More buyers shopping at once tends to lift prices.

Nationally, Zillow found homes listed in the last two weeks of May sold for about 1.7% more, or roughly $6,000 on a typical U.S. home.

What That Premium Actually Looks Like Here

Here's where the national headline undersells the coastal OC story. With Costa Mesa's median sale price hovering around $1.6M, a 1.7% premium pencils out to roughly $27,000. In Newport Beach, where median prices run meaningfully higher, the absolute dollars climb fast.

National averages don't capture what's actually on the table at our price points. This is one of those moments where percentages and price points have to be read together.

The Local Reality: Prep Matters More Than It Used To

A few years back, almost any reasonably presented home in Costa Mesa or Newport Beach drew multiple offers in a weekend. That market has quietly shifted. Per Redfin, Costa Mesa homes are sitting on the market around 41 days now, up from 33 a year ago. Buyers have a beat to think. Presentation is doing more work.

In our experience, that means timing still matters, but execution matters more. The homes drawing offers fast right now aren't the most upgraded ones. They're the ones with the cleanest first impression.

Where to Spend Your Prep Time

When the window is short, doing the right things beats doing more things. A few priorities, in order:

• Fix the small stuff. Squeaky doors, leaky faucets, chipped paint. Buyers notice the trivial things first, and wonder what else.
• Show off the outside. Patios, yards, and front entries do more for first impressions in coastal OC than they would almost anywhere else. A weekend of fresh mulch, a clean walkway, and trimmed hedges punches above its weight.
• Brighten the interior. Neutral paint, modern bulbs, maximum natural light. Buyers tour with phones in hand. Photos win the click.
• Declutter aggressively. Less stuff, more space. Personal items pack first.

We routinely talk clients out of bigger renovations a few weeks before listing. They almost never pencil out at this stage.

Bottom Line

If you'd written off spring 2026, don't. The next few weeks may be the strongest window of the year for coastal OC sellers who prep deliberately and price right.

If you want an honest read on what your Costa Mesa or Newport Beach home could do over the next 30 days, we'd love to talk. No pressure, no pitch.

Bernice DeVries | Broker | Kastell Real Estate Group — Costa Mesa & Newport Beach