Could the Day of the Week You List Your Home Make a Difference?

By BRANDON DARNELL | Special to the Palisadian-Post

Most homeowners consider many factors when preparing to put their home on the market: time of year, price, whether or not to stage, which rooms to paint, etc.

For example, it’s fairly common knowledge that springtime is the best season to list your property. The weather starts getting better, and a lot of families start looking to find a home to coordinate their move with their children’s school schedule.

Most of these factors are carefully considered and discussed with the homeowner’s real estate agent, but one important factor that is often missed is which day of the week the home should hit the market.

Monday could be good, right? You might think having your home on the market for a full week before holding your first Sunday open house will expose your home to the biggest pool of buyers.

Or what about Friday? Everyone loves Friday! Well, the studies are in, and it turns out homes listed on Thursday tend to sell for higher prices and in less time than homes listed on other days of the week.

In a 2018 study by Redfin, they analyzed more than two million home sales across the country and found that homes listed on Thursday sold for an average of .74% more relative to list price than homes listed on Monday. This means that for a home listed for $2 million, listing on a Thursday instead of Monday could mean a difference of $14,800.

These stats helped support another Redfin study from the previous year showing similar results. The chart here compares statistics from both a 2017 and this 2018 study, with both years showing strong results for Thursday listings.

Homes listed on Thursday don’t just sell for more money, they also sell the fastest, with the typical Thursday-listed home going under contract five days faster than homes listed on Sunday; homes listed on Sunday take the longest to close escrow. Wednesday- and Friday-listed homes were second best, with the typical home closing four days faster.

What is it about Thursdays that make them so great? To start, homes listed a bit closer to buyers’ home tour times, so they get the benefit of top of mind advertising.

Most public open houses are held on Saturdays and Sundays, and most buyers are available to tour homes over the weekend, so when buyers see a new home hit the market right before the weekend, they immediately add it to their list of homes to visit.

In today’s world filled with distractions and screens and ads (oh, my!), homes listed earlier in the week may already be out of sight, out of mind as buyers prepare for their weekend home tour. Listing your home on Friday, or especially over the weekend, may be too short of notice for prospective buyers to schedule showings and work into their home tour schedule. This leaves Thursday in the sweet spot for listing timing.

So, if you’re considering selling your home, keep in mind your timing—time of year and time of week—and talk with your agent about trying to schedule a Thursday listing date.

Brandon Darnell is a sales partner at Amalfi Estates, which has sold over a $1 billion in real estate and was selected by The WSJ as one of the top 60 teams in the country out of one million agents. Amalfi Estates also donates 10% of each commission to charity. Brandon can be reached on his cell at 310-633-4925 or by email at brandon@amalfiestates.com. Visit the office at 984 Monument Street, Suite 105, or online at amalfiestates.com.