Last month, I blogged about what I had learned from reading the new book Zillow Talk. One of my primary takeaways from the book, which used statistics derived from the millions of real estate listings on Zillow to draw conclusions about best practices, was that there is a best and worst time to list. The worst time--sometime in mid-December--seems obvious. The best time, however, was a surprise: 30 days after most listings come on the market in the spring. Why? Because when buyers get serious, which takes them a few weeks after the spring market begins to heat up, they look for the newest listings, which are not the ones already on, but the new ones just entering. Those, therefore, are homes that have come onto the market just as people have begun to narrow and intensify their searches.
Why did I mark this post urgent? Because that sweet spot for listing--at least to get the most money in the fastest time, statistically--is now! The authors boiled it down to "between filling out your bracket sheets for March Madness, and when the green jacket is slipped on at Augusta". For those of you who don't follow golf, the green jacket-winning golfer at Augusta is crowned this coming Sunday.
Now, I realize that there are always exceptions to every rule. People who decorate well, and keep their homes neat all year, can do very well in December, when very little is on the market, and those buyers that are out there are very motivated. Any given home can do well at any particular time, especially if it is well-priced, and in a good location. However, if you want to play the odds, now is your time. So beat the green jacket, and list this week!
