Americans planning to sell their homes this year might want to start early.
A new report by Realtor.com examined the most appropriate time to advertise homes for sale in 2022. In order to create the report, the researchers looked at the trends of seasonality in 2019 and 2018 as also 2021’s housing statistics that excluded 2020 due to the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic the year.
The week that was the most profitable was determined by comparing several factors, including competition among sellers, the price of the listing and the number of times homes stayed on the market before being sold, demand from buyers, and the probability of price cuts.
The best week overall to advertise a home to sell across the country was the week from April 10-16, less than one month away. The week was notable for several reasons:
- The average price for homes sold was 1.4 percent higher over the typical week. This means the median price for homes could be as high as $5,000 higher than the average according to this year’s price trends.
- In 2021, this same week witnessed a 20.9 percent increase in the number of visits each listing received compared to the typical week of the year.
- In the past, homes that were advertised during this week have been sold 13.2 percent more quickly than the typical.
In addition, in the nationwide shortage of homes available for sale, there were fewer people with houses listed in the same week in the previous year. Therefore, the homes that were put up for sale in that period were more likely to be subject to an increase in price.
(Realtor.com is managed via News Corp subsidiary Move Inc. It is also owned by MarketWatch. MarketWatch is part of Dow Jones, which is also an affiliate of News Corp.)
Sellers shouldn’t be content with their achievements.
While it’s an active market for sellers because of the high level of demand for homebuyers and the short availability of available homes for sale, the report warned that time is essential.
“Sellers’ positions seem to continue improving,” Realtor.com economic analyst Hannah Jones noted in the report. “But there are some ongoing shifts and potential changes in the market that are worthy of noting.”
The rates for mortgages are expected to increase throughout the year. This will cause buyers to be more cautious in their bids and lower the demand. A more significant number of sellers will join the market as the spring buying season begins, increasing competition. Additionally, home builders could decide to speed up construction in particular if supply-chain and labor problems improve, which could create greater competition for those selling existing properties.
Buyers must also be aware, Jones wrote. “The usual seasonal dynamics of the housing market, builder sentiment, and seller sentiment suggest that it’s going to get better,” she wrote. “We don’t expect inventory to be plentiful, but as more sellers come to the housing market, we expect there to be fewer buyers checking out and competing for each specific home.”
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If a person is a buyer or seller, they must be aware of the local market dynamics in their real estate market. While at a national level, the most effective time to put a house on the market can be found in April. In many areas across the country, the ideal time to put your property up for sale is in March. These markets comprise Richmond, Va., Orlando, Seattle, and San Francisco.
In areas like Tucson, Ariz.; Miami or Raleigh, N.C., the best time to put up a listing isn’t until June or May.