Study: List your house on Wednesday or Thursday

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If you want to sell your house for the most money, list it on a Wednesday. If you need it to sell as fast as possible, list it on a Thursday.

That’s according to a study conducted by Seattle-based real estate brokerage Redfin, which analyzed a sample of 100,000 homes sold in 2017. Using Sunday, the worst-performing day, as a baseline, Redfin calculated the relative advantage of listing on each day of the week.

Redfin found that homes listed on Wednesday sold for $2,023 more than homes listed on Sunday. Homes listed on Thursday sold an average of five days faster than homes listed on Sunday and were also more likely to be sold within 90 and 180 days compared to homes listed on other days.

Redfin speculated that agents who list on those days may be better at strategic pricing, or that those days better suit house hunters’ schedules. 

“Serious buyers typically start making their weekend house-hunting plans late in the work week," said Karla Kirkpatrick-Adams, a Redfin agent in Denver. “You want your home to be one of the fresh listings buyers see pop up as they decide which homes they should see over the weekend. In the competitive Denver market, many homes are listed on Wednesday and Thursday with the expectation that buyers will come through over the weekend, submit offers by a Monday afternoon deadline, and the home will be under contract by Tuesday.”

Making a positive online debut is crucial, Redfin said, because homes get five times more online views on the day they hit the market as compared to a week later.

“You only get one shot at making a first impression, which is why it's so important to have the right pricing,” Kirkpatrick-Adams said. “If you price too high, buyers may dismiss the property outright and never come back. It's far more effective to price right at market value or slightly below to drive buyer attention early on. It's common for well-priced homes to get multiple offers and be bid up, while overpriced homes tend to sit on the market for a while, despite the shortage of homes for sale right now.”

Professional photography can also help a home sell faster and for more money. A Redfin analysis found that sellers who used a high-quality camera to take photos of their listing got an average of $3,400 more for their homes. Those homes were also more likely to sell within six months than homes with photos taken with a point-and-shoot camera, Redfin found.