I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal about the best day to list your home for sale. It turns out it is Friday. To be specific, the article said that Friday is the one day of the week that beats any other in terms of capturing online viewers. But it went on to say Tuesdays are best for scheduling and taking home tours. I am guessing that as with anything in real estate, this is market specific, and even house specific.
What I mean by that is if you have a beautiful home in a hot market, you could probably list it on a Thursday in the middle of the night, and it will get plenty of attention. If you live in a weaker market, or have a property that is not as stunning as the neighbors’, then listing it on a Friday is probably best to optimize who views that new listing.
What Is The Best Day To List A Home?
- Homes that are listed on a Tuesday garner the most interest for home tours.
- Listing a home on a Friday rather than a Sunday—the worst day to debut—could mean a 1% difference on the sales price, or $5,000 on a $500,000 house.
- Properties listed on Fridays also sell the fastest.
What do other people say?
One realtor who was interviewed said, “Listing later in the week helps. But it’s not necessarily going to be a game-changer.”
A CEO of one large real estate company said, “You get four times the traffic on the day of debut than any other time of the week. And you only get one chance. Soon, you’re yesterday’s news.”
As everyone knows, your initial marketing period when listing a new home is critical. This is why realtors are so focused on pricing the home correctly to start. A home that is overpriced to start will not sell in its crucial initial marketing phase. After that, it becomes dead inventory. Buyers wonder why it did not sell early on. The property almost gets a stigma. And the seller can end up reducing the price further than they would have had to if they had simply priced it fairly to start.
The important take away is if you have a hot piece of housing inventory, you can probably list it for sale whenever you are ready to do so. If your house is not the most attractive one on the block, or if you are in a weaker housing market, or if you are pushing the envelope on pricing, list it for sale on a Friday!
Read more on pricing a home for sale:
Brian Martucci is a loan officer for Capital Bank Home Loans, a division of Capital Bank, N.A. He has been in the mortgage industry since 1986 and has served in a number of roles, including loan processor, loan officer, mortgage broker, branch manager, and vice president. Brian Martucci – NMLS# 185421. His opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Capital Bank Home Loans or Capital Bank. Capital Bank, N.A.- NMLS# 401599. Click here for the Capital Bank, N.A. “Privacy Policy”.
I strongly disagree. These stats are based on homes that sell in 30-60 days. If your goal is to sell in over a month… Then sure.
If your goal is to list so people on Friday will see you.. If you actually list ON Friday, people with daily alerts… Will see your property on Saturday! And I’d they are the type that search and look at work, then you miss them completely.
So the best day to list is wed night or Thursday .
Also Tuesday is horrible since it is too early I. The week and it kills bidding wars. Too early leads to impatient buyers that put deadlines to try and buy it pre open house or won’t wait around for a mon or Tues deadline.
The day you list is extremely important.
Frank
Broker FranklyRealty.com
Thanks for the feedback Frank. Folks, this is a highly successful Realtor who made this comment, so he knows of what he speaks. I think the take away, as you always hear, is that all real estate is “local”. So don’t extrapolate from a national trend and think that it may necessarily apply to your state, your neighborhood, your street, or your house. Deal with an excellent local Realtor (click here for a good read on how to choose a realtor), ask a lot of questions, and try and treat the sale of your home as a business transaction and not a personal event.