The pictures have been taken, the house has been cleaned, the “for sale” sign is in the yard, and the lockbox is on the door. You are all set to have your home listed on the market. But, what is the best day to maximize your home’s exposure to potential buyers and to get the best price?
In order to determine the best day, it is useful to take a step back and to better understand how a listing becomes live on the market as that influences the optimal listing day. To get a listing “live,” your agent will enter your property’s information into the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the online repository of all active, under contract, and sold listings in the area.
The information about your listing includes price, number of beds/baths, square footage, home amenities, and most importantly, for clients with the Eric Stewart Group of Long & Foster, professional high-resolution photos linked to a virtual floor plan of your home. As discussed in a previous blog, How To Attract More Buyers To Your Listing, virtual floor plans allow buyers to visualize the layout and space of your home before they even walk through the front door. Delivering such a strong first impression of your home will attract more prospective buyers, and thus more interest.
Only licensed real estate agents have access to the MLS, but the data and photos uploaded into that system are syndicated to other third party sites that are popular with buyers, such as Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com. However, it can take up to 24 hours (and in some instances 48 hours) for the information that is entered into the MLS to show up on these third party sites.
Because of this, it is ideal to list a property as early in the day as possible on Thursdays. Buyers typically look at homes over the weekend, and start planning on which ones they want to visit on Friday. Or, if they do look at homes with an agent during the week, they typically do so on a Thursday afternoon or Friday, when it is a bit easier to take off work. To ensure both agents and potential buyers see your listing, brand new to the market, you want your information entered into the MLS on Thursdays, early in the day.
There is data that also supports this reasoning. According to a recent article in the Washington Post, homes that hit the market on Thursday typically sell faster and for money, with almost one in five getting above the asking price.
If the property is in a highly desirable neighborhood, it’s advisable to put the listing on the market on Thursday to start generating interest, have an open house over the weekend to create further demand, and then ask for offers on the following Tuesday. This strategy can result in a bidding war, with the seller receiving multiple offers.
This past March, I listed a home in an up-and-coming neighborhood in Washington, DC for $500,00. Using the strategy mentioned above, the seller received multiple offers, with a final close price of $560,000!
Before hiring an agent, you should always ask about their go-to-market timeline and strategy. Every listing situation is different, but you do want to make sure your agent is maximizing the potential to sell your home for top dollar.
What Is Your Home Worth?
If you are planning on selling your home in the next month, or even the next year, and want to know how much your home may be worth, contact the trusted Realtors at the Eric Stewart Group for a FREE home valuation at no obligation. It’s never too early to start the planning process and getting professional input on your home’s market value.
