The Best (and Worst) Day to List a Home

When you are planning to sell your Del Mar luxury real estate, you want to get the largest return possible for it. A key factor when listing a home for sale is to find the perfect time to do so. Your personal timeline may be determined by factors such as job changes or family needs, but if you have the opportunity to pick the best day to list your home, what day should it be? 

In a 2020 poll from Homelight, the best day to list a home for sale is on Thursday, though the second best answer was "it does not matter." The second best answer is reflective of the ongoing strong seller markets across the country, though this can shift if the market turns. Why Thursday? More people are searching for homes online during the week and are more likely to see your listing. Further, Thursdays are less hectic than weekends, so potential buyers will have more time to schedule appointments to see your home on this day. In fact, a 2021 report agreed that Thursday is not only the most popular day to list, but homes listed on Thursdays tend to sell more quickly and are likely to sell above the asking price.

In 2019, ATTOM Data Solutions released an analysis of over 28 million home sales across eight years. Based on their research, June 28 is the best day to sell a home in terms of seller premium (median estimated value versus median sale price) at 10.8%. June 21 and May 31 offer premium rates of 10.7%, while June 20 offers 10.6% and May 24 offers 10.5%. The data showed that summer months traditionally see the largest seller premiums, with homes listed in June returning the highest premiums.

Because most people are busy with family obligations or doing other activities on this day, Sunday is the worst day to list a home. In addition, many real estate agents take Sundays off, so your Del Mar luxury real estate home may not be getting the same exposure as it would during the week.

The ATTOM Data Solutions analysis showed that the worst months to list a home based on seller premiums are October and December, with a rate of 3.3%. Although the month with the fewest number of sales is February, the seller premium rate is 5.6%.

As mentioned earlier, 20% of agents polled by Homelight indicated the day of listing doesn't matter. Homes listed on Sundays — or in months with low seller premiums or few sales — still sell. In fact, a strong market will sell homes regardless of the day and month they’re listed.

To determine the best and worst times to list in the Del Mar housing market, let’s examine the market trends.

In looking at the past five years of market trends, Del Mar real estate maintained a median list price between $2.0 and $2.8 million from November 2017 through August 2020, which is a very consistent range. Starting in September 2020, the market began to fluctuate, with the median price climbing up to $11 million in September 2021. The median price has fallen back below $4 million since March 2022 and in September it’s at $2.9 million.

The number of homes for sale has not exceeded 160 per month over the past five years, which has helped the market continually favor sellers. In September 2022, the number of homes for sale was 38, up from the 2-year low of 5 in December 2021.

The median days on market (DOM) for homes in Del Mar has fluctuated over the past five years, with large increases from 117 days in July 2019 to 239 days in November 2019 and 47 days in June 2021. Homes listed in December 2021 were on the market 394 days.

The easiest metric to determine the best time to list based on the market trends is days on the market. If you want your property to move quickly, the DOM has been relatively steady throughout 2022, between 36 and 56 days from listing date and going under contract. Looking at the past five years, however, there is traditionally a small spike in length of time on the market from September through November.

Given the relative stability of Del Mar's market over the past few months in median list price and DOM, the best day to list is likely any Thursday after your home is properly prepared for sale. The worst day to list in Del Mar is likely any Sunday, as there are traditionally fewer buyers looking and real estate agents may have the day off. You may also want to avoid listing in October or December, when seller premiums are lowest.

Regardless of when you list your home, working with an experienced seller's agent is the best way to get top dollar for it. Cindy Mort is a seller’s agent who can help you properly price, stage, and market your property to the right buyers. She knows the Del Mar real estate market and has the experience to guide you through the entire process. If you’re ready to sell, contact local agent Cindy Mort to get started.