Want a fast, lucrative sale? What day you list your home matters

Down to the day

When it comes to selling your home, it’s all about the timing. In fact, according to new data from Redfin, which day of the week you list your home on could have a big impact on its sales price – as well as how long it’s on the market.

Wednesdays for the win

Redfin recently analyzed a sample of 100,000 homes to see how listing day impacts their overall sale. According to the analysis, homes listed on Wednesdays sell for the most. Wednesday listings come in more than $2,000 higher in sales price than homes listed on Sundays.

“Homes listed on Wednesday had an advantage of $2,023 in sale price over homes listed on a Sunday, a sale-to-list premium of 0.53 percent,” Redfin reported. “For a $500,000 house, that means you could make $2,650 more just by listing on a Wednesday instead of a Sunday.”

Next in line is Thursdays, when homes sell for $1,609 above Sunday-listed properties. Thursday is also that day homes sell the fastest, selling an average of five days faster than Sunday homes. Thursday homes are also more likely to be sold within 90 days than any other day of the week.

Selling a home today? Names matter

Why days matter

There’s no clear-cut reason Wednesday- and Thursday-listed homes see such success, but Redfin agent Karla Kirkpatrick-Adams said it could have something to do with the typical buyer’s house-hunting schedule.

“Serious buyers typically start making their weekend house-hunting plans late in the work week,” Kirkpatrick-Adams said. “You want your home to be one of the fresh listings buyers see pop up as they decide which homes they should see over the weekend. In the competitive Denver market, many homes are listed on Wednesday and Thursday with the expectation that buyers will come through over the weekend, submit offers by a Monday afternoon deadline and the home will be under contract by Tuesday.”

Regional customs could also play into why Wednesdays and Thursdays seem more favorable for home sales. In San Francisco, for example, “broker’s open” events often occur early in the week. Brokers will then recommend properties to their buyers in the days following.

“A broker’s open is an open house for agents,” Redfin reported. “In some markets, agents may visit a series of broker’s opens on Tuesday, for example, to preview all the new homes that are on the market for their buyers.”

When not to list

Sunday- and Monday-listed homes are the worst in terms of the sales price and time on the market. Price-wise, Sunday homes come in under every other day of the week, while Sunday and Monday are tied for last when it comes to speed of sale.

Saturday-listed homes, while not the worst, typically come in just $415 over Sunday home prices, while those listed on Tuesday bring in only $550 more.

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