Best Time to List Your Home is a Saturday in Late Spring

Homes listed in early May sell nine days faster and for 1 percent more than average listings

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Mar 02, 2017, 07:00 ET

SEATTLE, March 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Listing a home toward the end of spring significantly increases a seller's chances of selling their home faster and for more money, according to new analysis from Zillow. Nationally, homes listed from May 1 through May 15, sell around nine days faster and for nearly 1 percent more than the average listingⁱ. In 20 of the 25 largest metro areas, the best month to list is late spring, in either April or May.

Housing market dynamics, including low inventory, make the buying season more pronounced in some parts of the country. Sellers in the highly competitive Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Denver markets saw between a 1.5 and 2.5 percent boost to final sale prices when they listed in early May. The lack of new homes for sale in these markets elongates the home-buying season as many buyers are forced to consider several homes and make multiple offers. Less than half of buyers got the first home on which they made an offer, according to the Zillow Group Report on Consumer Housing Trends.

Weather patterns also affect the exact best window to sell in different areas. Sellers in Texas, California and Florida will find themselves with more flexibility in list timeframe, as many regions without distinct climate changes show little variation in sale price based on listing month.

"With 3 percent fewer homes on the market than last year, 2017 is shaping up to be another competitive buying season," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. "Many home buyers who started looking for homes in the early spring will still be searching for their dream home months later. By May, some buyers may be anxious to get settled into a new home— and will be more willing to pay a premium to close the deal."

Additionally, listing on different days of the week can impact the number of buyers who will view the new listing. Listings that appear on Zillow on Saturday earn an average of 20 percent more views in the first week on market than early-in-the-week listings; similarly, Friday listings on Zillow earn 14 percent more views that those published on Mondayⁱⁱ.

To apply this analysis to individual homes, homeowners can use Best Time to List, a tool that estimatesⁱⁱⁱhow much the timing of a listing will influence the final sale price for their home and their own market. Registered Zillow users access the tool by clicking the "Sell Your Home" tab on the home details page of their home, and obtain valuable information to pair with the expertise of a local real estate agent when determining the best time to put their home on the market.

Metro Area	Ideal Timeframe to List Home	Days Sold Faster than Average	Average Sales Premium (%)	Average Sales Premium ($)	Ideal Day of the Week to List
United States	May 1 – 15	9	0.8%	$1,500	Saturday
New York/Northern New Jersey	May 1 – 15	7.5	0.7%	$2,600	Saturday
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	April 16 – 30	15	1.0%	$5,600	Friday
Chicago, IL	May 1 – 15	12.5	1.3%	$2,500	Friday
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	May 1 – 15	9	1.3%	$2,400	Saturday
Philadelphia, PA	May 1 – 15	9.75	1.0%	$2,000	Friday
Washington, DC	April 1 – April 15	15	1.2%	$4,500	Thursday
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL	March 1 - 15	8	0.7%	$1,500	Saturday
Atlanta, GA	April 1 – April 15	19	1.4%	$2,200	Friday
Boston, MA	April 16 – 30	13.5	1.2%	$4,500	Wednesday
San Francisco, CA	May 16 – 31	5.5	1.3%	$10,200	Friday
Detroit, MI	March 16 – 31	17.5	1.5%	$1,900	Sunday
Riverside, CA	April 1 – 15	15	1.1%	$3,400	Friday
Phoenix, AZ	April 16 – 30	14.5	0.8%	$1,700	Saturday
Seattle, WA	May 1 – 15	15	2.5%	$9,300	Thursday
Minneapolis-St Paul, MN	May 16 – 31	6	1.4%	$3,200	Friday
San Diego, CA	April 1 – 15	13	1.3%	$6,200	Saturday
St. Louis, MO	May 1 – 15	10.5	1.3%	$1,800	Saturday
Tampa, FL	March 1 – 15	10.5	0.9%	$1,500	Saturday
Baltimore, MD	April 1 – 15	21.5	0.9%	$2,300	Saturday
Denver, CO	May 1 – 15	8	1.7%	$5,600	Friday
Pittsburgh, PA	March 16 – 31	17	0.9%	$1,100	Saturday
Portland, OR	May 1 – 15	16.5	2.0%	$6,300	Friday
Charlotte, NC	May 1 – 15	12.25	1.1%	$1,700	Saturday
Sacramento, CA	April 1 – 15	17.5	2.0%	$6,600	Saturday
San Jose, CA	May 1 – 15	9	1.6%	$14,900	Wednesday

Zillow

Zillow® is the leading real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with the best local professionals who can help. Zillow serves the full lifecycle of owning and living in a home: buying, selling, renting, financing, remodeling and more. In addition to Zillow.com®, Zillow operates the most popular suite of mobile real estate apps, with more than two dozen apps across all major platforms. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z and ZG) and headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow and Zillow.com are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc.

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ⁱ Zillow analyzed the historical listing, sale and Zestimate data of single-family homes and condos between 2008 and 2016 within each metro to calculate the extent to which different listing date will influence the time on market and final sale price.
ⁱⁱAnalysis calculated based on average page views on Zillow per listing in the first week of market, based on day of the week the listing was posted
ⁱⁱⁱ Best Time to List analyzes the historical sales of nearby comparable homes and seasonal market conditions by zip code to calculate the extent to which different listing months will influence the final sale price of each home.

SOURCE Zillow