Is there a “best” day to list your property?
Yes, but first let’s talk about the days you don’t want to put your home on the market: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This is when most people are out and about looking for homes, which means their agents are out with them instead of sitting down at their computers checking the MLS for new listings.
The first 24 hours on the MLS are crucial in terms of exposing your home to the most agents possible. Roughly 87% of all buyers have an agent, so you don’t want to list your home when no one’s looking.
All agents have property alert systems on their phone, but scheduling showings when you’re out with other clients is very challenging, especially when you’re trying to give the common courtesy of a 24-hour notice. Listing on Saturday or Sunday is acceptable only when you’ve already put a sign in your yard or started a “coming soon” campaign.
What about Friday? Well, don’t you like to know what you’re doing this weekend before 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon? I sure do, and when we see a home hit the market during that time—when we’re already frantically scheduling showings before our office closes—it becomes very difficult to change plans.
When I get a call on a weekend about a brand-new listing that’s hit the market, my weekend plans vanish. Whether I’m out showing homes to a client or skydiving (as I often like to do on the weekends), I have no choice but to go see it in these market conditions. Why not make everyone’s lives easier and put your home in front of as many eyes as possible by listing before then?
So when are the best days to list? Preferably Tuesdays or Wednesdays. This gives consumers the most time to see it while it syndicates out to Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, etc. This also makes your life more convenient because you can plan to be out of the house once the weekend hits and showings start.
To be clear, if you’re a buyer, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t call me on the weekends if you see a new home you like. Please do!
If you have any questions about this topic or you’re ready to buy or sell a home in Harrisonburg, don’t hesitate to give me a shout. I’d love to help you.
