Real Estate Today
What day of the week should you list your home?

December 2011

There have been a number of articles online recently that have statistically analyzed the best day to list your home, looking at a million listings. The articles compare sale price to list price and the number of days on the market. Friday came out ahead as the number one day to list your home. This does not mean that you literally need to sign the listing contract on Friday, but that it should first appear in the multiple listing service (MLS) on a Friday.

In San Francisco, for a listing appear in the MLS Sunday open homes and Tuesday brokers’ tour schedule, it must be entered into the S.F. MLS system by noon on Friday. Many agents shoot for Thursday evening to avoid the possibility of a technology glitch. Agents who are more daring may wait until the very last moment to enter the listing – just before noon on Friday.

At a property’s first Sunday open house, when an agent can say the listing has been on the market only two days, buyers will be excited to be the first ones to see the property. After 30 days, buyers typically are asking what is wrong with the home. Whatever the issue, buyers want an explanation and frequently ask when will there be a price reduction.

On the weekend, buyers have time to look online and in the newspaper for new homes on the market. There are so many demands on buyers’ free time that it is important to catch their attention at the last moment as they make plans for their weekend search.

Considering the preparation involved in selling a home, don’t let the best day to list your property slip by. If you’re not ready, it may be better to wait a few days for the next Friday and your first Sunday open house so you won’t have the clock ticking on the “days on market” and risk selling your home for a lower price or it taking a longer time.
Carole Isaacs is a real estate agent with McGuire Real Estate (Lombard, Bluxome and Noe Valley offices), photographer and lover of all things San Francisco. Visit her Facebook business page at www.facebook.com/sanfranciscocityliving.