SEATTLE, Feb. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sellers looking to
maximize profits should list their homes for sale in the first two weeks of May. A Zillow® analysis finds that those homes sell for a $1,600 premium, and six days
faster. In 19 of the 35 largest metros, the best month to sell for the biggest sales premium is May.
That said, the best time to list a home varies by market, and could be impacted by local market dynamics or even weather
patterns. The earliest is in Pittsburgh, where the magic window is the second half of March,
while a handful of markets don't hit the prime listing time until the first two weeks of July.
Early signals for the 2019 housing market suggest that the balance is tilting toward buyers, as inventory is showing modest
gains and appreciation is stabilizing or slowing in some of the previously hottest markets. As the market shifts, it's
increasingly important for sellers to understand what's happening in their market as they approach the home shopping season.
Sellers with the freedom to choose when to sell their home may be able to earn an extra boost by listing at the right time.
Before putting their homes on the market, sellers spend about seven months on average thinking about their decision. During
that time, most sellers complete at least one home improvement project before listingi. Knowing the best listing
window gives them time to prepare their home.
"Sellers time their listings to optimize their sale in all sorts of ways," said Skylar Olsen,
Zillow Director of Economic Research and Outreach. "Some need to time the sale just right to manage their own synchronized home
purchase. Others are seeking to get the highest sale price possible. Balancing these two common priorities suggests that an early
May listing date is your best bet, but working with an agent who can weigh the local market and your unique priorities is still
our lasting advice."
The biggest premium for timing a listing is in Minneapolis, where homes listed in the first
half of May sold for a 1.8 percent premium. That translates to an extra $4,900 on the sale. Sellers
in Austin and Miami, on the other hand, saw the smallest sales
premiums. In those markets, listing during the "magic window" gained sellers a 0.5 percent premium – about $1,400.
Cleveland sellers who list their homes in the first half of May could see their homes sell
nearly two weeks faster than the typical home. In Las Vegas, when a home is listed has little
impact on how quickly it sells. Homes listed during the ideal window in early July sold just half a day faster.
The day a home is listed can also affect how many potential buyers see it, as the majority of home shoppers (79 percent) use
online resources during their search, according to the 2018 Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report. Homes listed on Saturdays get the most page views in the
first week, and 20 percent more views than homes listed on Tuesdays, which get the fewest page views.
Individual sellers can find the best time to list their homes with Zillow's Owner Dashboard. Registered owners who have claimed their homes can use tools in the Owner Dashboard to
estimate how much the timing of the listing may influence the final sale price.
|
Region
|
Ideal Listing
Window
|
Median Sale
Premium ($)
|
Median Sale
Premium (%)
|
Days Sold
Faster than
Median
Home
|
Ideal Listing
Day of the
Week
|
|
United States
|
May 1-15
|
$1,600
|
0.7%
|
6
|
Saturday
|
|
New York, NY
|
May 16-31
|
$3,100
|
0.7%
|
11
|
Friday
|
|
Los Angeles, CA
|
May 16-31
|
$6,000
|
0.9%
|
3
|
Thursday
|
|
Chicago, IL
|
May 1-15
|
$3,300
|
1.5%
|
10.5
|
Friday
|
|
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
|
July 1-15
|
$1,400
|
0.6%
|
2.5
|
Saturday
|
|
Philadelphia, PA
|
April 16-30
|
$2,400
|
1.1%
|
9.5
|
Friday
|
|
Houston, TX
|
July 1-15
|
$1,400
|
0.7%
|
1.5
|
Saturday
|
|
Washington, DC
|
April 1-15
|
$3,800
|
0.9%
|
6
|
Thursday
|
|
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL
|
July 1-15
|
$1,400
|
0.5%
|
1
|
Saturday
|
|
Atlanta, GA
|
June 1-15
|
$1,300
|
0.6%
|
5.5
|
Friday
|
|
Boston, MA
|
May 16-31
|
$5,500
|
1.2%
|
5
|
Wednesday
|
|
San Francisco, CA
|
April 16-30
|
$10,000
|
1.0%
|
2.5
|
Friday
|
|
Detroit, MI
|
May 1-15
|
$2,100
|
1.3%
|
7
|
Sunday
|
|
Riverside, CA
|
June 1-15
|
$3,200
|
0.9%
|
4
|
Friday
|
|
Phoenix, AZ
|
May 1-15
|
$1,900
|
0.7%
|
4
|
Saturday
|
|
Seattle, WA
|
June 1-15
|
$7,500
|
1.5%
|
6
|
Thursday
|
|
Minneapolis-St Paul, MN
|
May 1-15
|
$4,900
|
1.8%
|
7
|
Friday
|
|
San Diego, CA
|
May 1-15
|
$6,000
|
1.0%
|
6
|
Saturday
|
|
St. Louis, MO
|
May 1-15
|
$1,800
|
1.1%
|
7.5
|
Friday
|
|
Tampa, FL
|
July 1-15
|
$1,500
|
0.7%
|
1
|
Saturday
|
|
Baltimore, MD
|
May 16-31
|
$2,400
|
0.9%
|
5
|
Thursday
|
|
Denver, CO
|
May 1-15
|
$4,300
|
1.1%
|
6
|
Thursday
|
|
Pittsburgh, PA
|
March 16-31
|
$1,000
|
0.7%
|
10.5
|
Saturday
|
|
Portland, OR
|
May 1-15
|
$5,400
|
1.4%
|
7.5
|
Thursday
|
|
Charlotte, NC
|
July 1-15
|
$1,700
|
0.8%
|
5
|
Saturday
|
|
Sacramento, CA
|
May 1-15
|
$5,200
|
1.3%
|
7
|
Friday
|
|
San Antonio, TX
|
April 1-15
|
$1,200
|
0.6%
|
8.25
|
Saturday
|
|
Orlando, FL
|
June 1-15
|
$1,600
|
0.7%
|
4.5
|
Friday
|
|
Cincinnati, OH
|
May 16-31
|
$1,400
|
0.8%
|
7
|
Sunday
|
|
Cleveland, OH
|
May 1-15
|
$1,900
|
1.3%
|
13
|
Sunday
|
|
Kansas City, MO
|
May 1-15
|
$2,200
|
1.2%
|
7
|
Thursday
|
|
Las Vegas, NV
|
July 1-15
|
$2,300
|
0.8%
|
0.5
|
Saturday
|
|
Columbus, OH
|
June 1-15
|
$2,900
|
1.5%
|
8.5
|
Saturday
|
|
Indianapolis, IN
|
May 1-15
|
$2,000
|
1.2%
|
9.5
|
Sunday
|
|
San Jose, CA
|
May 1-15
|
$18,900
|
1.5%
|
3
|
Wednesday
|
|
Austin, TX
|
May 16-31
|
$1,400
|
0.5%
|
7.5
|
Saturday
|
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 great real estate professionals. In addition, Zillow operates
an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow Group's Chief Economist Dr. Svenja
Gudell. Dr. Gudell and her team of economists and data analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more
than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which
asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the
Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z
and ZG), and headquartered in Seattle.
Zillow is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.
i https://www.zillow.com/report/2018/sellers/the-listing-process/
View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/listing-in-early-may-can-earn-sellers-1-600-more-300797604.html
SOURCE Zillow