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Planning on Selling Your Home? Here Is the Best (and Worst) Month to List

You’ve updated your kitchen countertops, refreshed your exterior paint and installed a rainfall showerhead in the master bathroom—now there’s only one thing left to do: list your home. And while you may have all the tips and tricks to get top dollar on your home, you probably didn’t know that the best time to list is on a Thursday during the second half of April. But just because that date has slipped by us doesn't mean all hope is lost.

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According to a recent Zillow report, homes listed during the last two weeks of April sold for about $9,300 more than the typical U.S. home. However, the report also states that in most major cities, spring remains the key time to list, with homes earning top dollar through the end of May. So, if you're thinking of listing, the time to act is now—and you might want to plan on having your house hit the MLS toward the end of the week. Zillow found that homes listed on any Thursday—when shoppers are planning for weekend showings—sold for about $1,100 more.

“Homes are selling fast regardless of season, but the time of year you list your home can have a big impact on the sale price,” explains Dan Handy in the report. (To that end, home listings in early April of 2021 received nearly a third more daily page views page compared to any time of year.)

So when is the worst time of year to list your home? November, according to the report. Data revealed that homes listed in the first two weeks of November saw a 3.5 percent drop in average sales. What’s more, the potential price difference between listing a home in April (compared to November) was around $21,000 nationally and as much as nearly $200,000 in the California Bay Area.

The bottom line? Jazzing up your home’s curb appeal can only take you so far if you’re listing between Turkey Day and Christmas. Our best advice is to hold off ‘til spring when flowers are blooming, and the market is booming.



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Assistant Editor

Sydney Meister is PureWow's Assistant Editor, covering everything from dating trends and relationship advice (here's looking at you, 'soonicorns') to interior design, beauty...