Chicago buyers start looking in April or MayGetty
Here’s the best time to list your home, according to recent research from Realtor.com in the 50 largest metros around the country. Look to the first week of April in many areas this year as the right time to list your home and take advantage of a robust spring buying season.
Depending on where you live, you’ll find more serious buyers out there looking and often fewer sellers. The results—a faster selling time frame and less price-cutting. Realtor.com bases its analysis “on trends in median listing prices, views per property on Realtor.com, home price drops, median days on market, and number of listings on the market over the last three years.”
“We focused on when the best time to sell would be if you want to close escrow in June,” explains Danielle Hale, Realtor.com’s chief economist. “Listing your home, the first week in April came out as the time when you would have market factors in your favor with risk aversion to price drops and the time it takes to sell. You could possibly get more money if you waited a bit, but it might take longer to sell,” Hale adds. Sellers should decide what’s most important to them when listing their property.
Look at the Realtor.com data to see how your metro measures up. The numbers show homes listed the first week of April (the week actually begins on March 31 for Realtor.com’s purpose) net 14% more views with 5% less competition and sell six days faster. And look to a 6% higher price on an average of $17,000. Of the top 50 largest metros in the country, 29 have their peak listing date in April.
Another reason to list early in April is that many sellers are waiting a bit longer, often until June, when school is out to list. The result? Less competition for that buyer.
In some markets around the country like Chicago, when spring is just around the corner, buyers have come out of hibernation and are seriously looking contributing to pent-up demand. Listen to Michael LaFido, founder and CEO of Marketing Luxury Group | Luxury Listing Specialist (LUXE): “It’s been my experience, both as a licensed real estate agent in Chicagoland and as a real estate consultant with clients across the country, that April and May are the best months to sell a home in most primary markets.”
In Boston, where snow in April isn’t uncommon, May, brings out the buyers, contends David Bates, broker associate at William Raveis Real Estate. “In the last two years, May has been the most popular month to list a condo in the greater Boston market. I think aesthetics—great light and trees in bloom—make the property look enticing. Also, the condo market is not as focused around the school year,” Bates said.
To see the best start week to list, the listing price for that week compared to the beginning of the year and additional data you can use to plan, check the chart below.
When to list in 50 top metros. (Click to enlarge.)realtor.com
Hale of Realtor.com also notes that the best week to list varies metro by metro. “Markets, where the climate is not an issue like Miami and San Diego, aren’t driven by a typical family market.” If you’re a seller use this information to time the market.
