Because of school year calendars and weather-related cycles, real estate activity usually coincides with the historical spring-summer peak selling season in most of the U.S. Although it may come as a shock for local residents who subscribe to the “Memorial Day is the true first day of summer” notion, this week marks the end of spring. 

That’s right! Even if we feel as if spring just got going in earnest, by midnight at the end of this week’s three-day holiday, it will be over and out. Next Monday will mark the solemn observation of Memorial Day and the sacrifices our veterans have made throughout history—but the un-solemn observation of the Indianapolis 500 will already be in the books by Sunday evening.

For sticklers on astronomical precision, spring may not end until the summer solstice (that won’t happen until June 21)—but the popular idea of summertime beginning on Memorial Day and lasting until Labor Day generally prevails. That despite a meteorological argument from astronomical purists. Meteorological summer is based on temperature, whereby summer consists of the hottest three months: June, July, and August. So, meteorologically, the jig is up for springtime on the last day of May: this year, that falls on Monday.

What the last day of spring, the first day of summer, and/or Memorial Day actually means for real estate is largely perceptual. When house-hunters are checking out a property on a frigid afternoon in January, it’s understandably hard for them to picture the lifestyle contribution that goes with a well-laid-out backyard—one that’s ideal for summertime entertaining. But this time of year, its value is abundantly self-evident.