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Selling or buying? Better check that calendar …

Date:July 18, 2007 | Author:Leslie Pandey | Category:Real Estate

Update: We’d like to point out that both of these articles were authored by Greg Swann, who writes the wildly popular Bloodhound Blog. We goofed in not pointing this out when we published the post. Our apologies.

Today’s Wiki Wednesday Features: Best Time to List Your House and Best Time to Make an Offer on a House

So, you’ve finally decided to put your house on the market. Once you’ve chosen to take the leap, you want it listed right away, right? You’re ready to put the sign up! Well, wait just a minute … you’d better check your calendar .

In a recent cruise through the Real Estate Guide, I uncovered this little gem of an article that says that there is indeed a best time to list your house. And what’s the best time? Thursday mornings. The reason is two-fold: Your home will be available for showings that weekend, but it will also be a fresh-on-the-market listing (list it any earlier in the week and by the weekend, it’s already looking a bit stale). Why is this important? You’re more likely to get a full-price offer if your home has been on the market for a short period of time.

For buyers, there is also a best time to make an offer on a home. And according to this article, it’s the first Tuesday of the month — and early in the day. Why is it important that it be the first week of the month? Because the owner just paid their mortgage. With that fresh in their mind, they’re thinking they better sell the home soon (or at least before the next bill comes!). Tuesday morning is best because it’s likely that they’ve already received all offers (if any) as a result of the weekend showings, and no others will be coming in. Yours might be the best offer they think they’re going to get.

Of course, if waiting to make an offer until the best possible time means that you might lose out on it — and you can’t stand the thought of losing it — then by all means make that offer. But if you can take the chance on not scoring the home, then you might save yourself some money by waiting.

Ed: Wiki Wednesdays is a weekly feature that highlights helpful or interesting articles from the Real Estate Guide.

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Responses (7)

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Eric Ransom 10:22 AM - Jul 19,2007

Intersting insight, but I do not think words to live by. Obviously there are tons of factors determining when people list and when they make offers. These are some good points to consider though.

Thanks.
John N 11:05 AM - Jul 19,2007

Actually you can list at anytime of the week, just make sure you put the home on the MLS on thursday for weekend showing.

buyers best time on tuesday and wednesday – just before weekend ..

offcourse if the home is overprice, then you probably expect less traffic or no traffic at all..so don’t overlist your home and don’t expect $1 mil for your 200k home..

in today’s market, if you’re making an offer, instruct your agent to offer 10% or more less than market value then negotiate… chances are if they don’t take it, another better home is out there for you – and they have tons more inventory no a days

http://www.johnhomesonline.com
Cassie Walker Johnson 2:06 PM - Jul 19,2007

I have to say I disagree. When evaluating when is the best time to put your house on the market, the seller and their agent should consider all marketing venues including Broker open houses. Check with your agent to find out when the Broker open is scheduled in your neighborhood. It would be wise to expose your house to the agents before the weekend while they are touring your neighborhood so that they will come back to show it to their clients.
Maggie 10:29 AM - Jul 20,2007

I would agree that time plays a major role when making a step towards selling or buying real estate. But it is definitely not the only factor to be considered. Most importantly, you need to be familiar with the latest behavior trends and preferences, aka following residents’ and non-residents’ ratings and reviews. For me the human element remains the most important and should be carefully analyzed with the help of impartial data. OnlineDirectory
is a useful website that will help you find that data to initiate any Manhattan apartment shopping.
Christine 8:07 AM - Jul 24,2007

This is an interesting way to look at the market and you mkae some really good points. I always enjoy seeing what everyone else thinks about the latest trends. Good job.