When it comes to getting the timing right for listing a home for sale, April 1 is no joke.
The first week of April is set to be the best moment to put a home on the market this year, according to a recent analysis from Realtor.com. Homes listed between March 31 and April 6 are projected to get 14% more views and 5% less competition.
‘Putting a home on the market in early April positions sellers to attract buyers seeking to close and move before the beginning of school year.’ —Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com
As a result, Realtor.com estimates that these homes will sell on average six days faster and fetch 6% higher prices on average, which equates to a gain for the seller of $17,000 for the typical listing. The high demand these homes should encounter also means sellers who put their home on the market then are 1% less likely to have to drop the price.
“June is often considered the peak of home buying season, but our analysis found the first week of April is best for sellers looking to maximize list price, and also reduce the risk of price cuts and competition from other sellers,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com. “Given the time it takes from listing to close, putting a home on the market in early April positions sellers to attract buyers seeking to close and move before the beginning of school year.”
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Realtor.com based its analysis on data from the last three years, looking at trends in median listing prices, views per property on Realtor.com, the amount of time properties were on the market and the number of listings.
Making the week ahead all the sweeter is the recent downturn in mortgage rates. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.06% this week, dropping 22 basis points to a 14-month low for the biggest weekly decline in mortgage rates in nearly a decade. So far this year, the average rate for these loans has only increased twice.
Realtor.com’s report suggested that these low rates could attract home buyers looking to score the rare deal in today’s pricey real-estate market. (Realtor.com is operated by News Corp NWSA, +0.48% subsidiary Move Inc., and MarketWatch is a unit of Dow Jones, which is also a subsidiary of News Corp.)
Nevertheless, as the adage goes: All real estate is local. And depending on where a seller lives, they may want to hold off on listing their home — or get a move on. In particular, sellers in warmer climates may want to hold off until later in the year.
Some Sun Belt cities see their peak listing week in the summer. The best time to list a home in Miami, for instance, is the week of Aug. 4. And sellers in Riverside, Calif., may want to hold off on advertising their properties until June.
Metropolitan area Best week start date Listing price versus start of year Views per property versus average Price reductions versus average Days on market versus average Active listings versus average United States March 31, 2019 5.90% 14.10% -0.70% -8.70% -5.20% New York March 31, 2019 8.10% 10.90% -0.70% -14.10% -5.40% Los Angeles April 14, 2019 8.40% 11.10% -0.80% -15.90% -6.40% Chicago March 31, 2019 10.80% 17.10% -1.20% -15.10% -0.70% Dallas-Fort Worth March 31, 2019 7.50% 19.70% -1.60% -15.30% -11.90% Houston March 24, 2019 4.40% 15.90% -0.40% -12.80% -7.60% Philadelphia March 31, 2019 7.50% 14.40% -1.00% -11.30% -2.90% Washington, D.C. March 24, 2019 8.10% 24.00% -0.60% -28.40% -11.70% Miami August 4, 2019 4.20% 11.30% -0.20% 2.80% -2.60% Atlanta April 7, 2019 9.30% 13.50% -0.80% -14.30% -8.10% Boston April 14, 2019 9.00% 18.80% -1.10% -29.50% -5.40% San Francisco March 24, 2019 14.30% 26.00% -1.30% -24.90% -18.00% Detroit April 21, 2019 18.80% 21.40% -0.80% -10.80% -11.70% Phoenix June 9, 2019 5.30% 6.60% -0.20% -2.10% 0.80% Seattle April 7, 2019 17.80% 29.40% -3.20% -19.30% -31.20% Minneapolis-St. Paul March 24, 2019 9.10% 29.70% -1.30% -18.90% -10.90% Riverside, Calif. June 2, 2019 4.40% 14.70% -0.50% -11.70% 1.90% Tampa-, Fla. June 9, 2019 8.30% 21.50% 0.20% -6.40% -0.40% San Diego February 24, 2019 3.40% 21.60% -1.70% -9.00% -14.90% St. Louis, Mo. March 31, 2019 8.90% 20.00% -0.80% -12.50% -4.90% Denver March 10, 2019 4.90% 50.80% -1.20% -16.20% -41.50% Baltimore March 24, 2019 7.40% 26.10% -0.90% -11.60% -10.30% Pittsburgh, Pa. April 14, 2019 8.90% 10.30% -0.40% -8.40% -2.50% Portland, Ore. April 14, 2019 5.50% 23.90% -1.30% -22.80% -23.90% Charlotte, N.C. April 7, 2019 8.20% 14.50% -1.00% -17.00% 1.00% Orlando, Fla. April 14, 2019 6.60% 10.30% -0.30% -7.80% -2.20%
