With strong buyer demand, high prices, quick
sales and less seller competition, April
10-16 will be the sweet spot for sellers who want to put
their home on the market this year
SANTA
CLARA, Calif., March 14,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With 2022 anticipated to be a
whirlwind year for buyers, it can be hard for sellers to know when
the optimal time is to put a home on the market.
Realtor.com® crunched the numbers in its fourth annual
Best Time to Sell Report and found this year's
best week to list nationwide is April
10-16. Sellers who list during this week – newly named
Realtor.com® Listapalooza – will take advantage of
the Spring buying season's top lineup of strong
demand, high asking prices, quick home sales and less competition
from other sellers.1
"Every year, to help sellers better navigate the
spring buying season, we take a look at recent market conditions to
determine the optimal week to put a home on the market. And that
perfect moment is just weeks away for 2022 sellers, with data
indicating that home prices and demand are rising earlier than in a
typical year," said Realtor.com® Chief Economist
Danielle Hale.
"Homeowners who are thinking about selling this Spring
still have time to get ready, with the majority of recently
surveyed sellers indicating that listing preparations took 2-12
weeks. A good first step when selling your home is to understand
your options, such as those available via the
Realtor.com® Seller's Marketplace, and
find the best approach based on your family's needs.
This way, you'll be able to immediately start your
listing process as soon as you're ready. Preparation is especially
important this year, since market dynamics could shift quickly
along with factors like rising mortgage rates, inflation and the
ongoing conflict in Ukraine."
By listing April 10-16, sellers
can expect a top lineup of Spring buying competition
With
buyer interest accelerating weeks before the usual start of the
Spring buying season, getting a head start on the competition will
likely pay off for 2022 sellers. Mortgage rates have been rising
more quickly than expected, adding fuel to the fire for buyers
hoping to find the right home and lock-in relatively affordable
monthly payments. While a high number of home sales are expected
throughout the Spring, Realtor.com® found that the
seasonal sweet spot to list a home in 2022, or
Realtor.com® Listapalooza, is April 10-16, based on:
- Surging buyer demand: With buyer activity typically
rising heading into the Spring, homes added to the market during
the same week in 2021 received 29% more views on
Realtor.com® than the average week in 2021 and 18.6%
more interest than the average home listed in 2018-2021. As a
result, sellers who list their homes during Listapalooza may be
able to expect more offers and bidding wars, which can result in
higher asking prices and a faster sale than later in 2022.
- High home prices: Home prices already broke the 2021
record in February, accelerating earlier in the Spring buying
season than in previous years. As a result, sellers who list from
April 10-16 could secure asking
prices that are 10.9% (+$39,000) higher than at the start of the
year and 1.4% (+$5,000) above the average annual listing price,
based on 2021 trends.
- Fast-moving homes: So far in 2022, homes have been
flying off the market at an increasingly fast pace, reflecting
early signs of Spring seasonality. In fact, the year kicked off
with the fastest-moving January ever (61 days), followed by even
lower time on market in February (47 days). During the week of
April 10, homes sold six days more
quickly than the 2021 average and nearly a month faster than in
2019 (-27 days), before the onset of COVID.
- Less competition from other sellers: With demand
outpacing supply, inventory continues to fall short of previous
years, but also reflects regular seasonal patterns. From
April 10-16, there were fewer sellers
with homes actively listed than in the average week in 2021
(-12.9%). With the number of for-sale home options available to
buyers historically rising further into the year, seller
competition will increasingly be a key factor to consider.
Key trends for sellers to watch moving further into the 2022
buying season
Sellers can generally expect to hold the upper
hand when the right time for them comes along this Spring, as
2022 buyers have been largely accepting of higher asking prices and
quick sales. Even so, sellers' odds of success are
greater if they list during Listapalooza compared to later in the
year, due to a number of shifting market dynamics. Some of the
factors sellers should keep an eye on are:
- Buyers price sensitivity rises along with mortgage
rates: Mortgage rates remained historically-low throughout
2021, giving home shoppers more flexibility to meet higher asking
prices. However, mortgage rates have jumped significantly since the
start of this year and are expected to continue rising,
particularly with the Fed planning on an interest rate hike as soon
as March. As buyers grapple with higher monthly costs, some may
tighten their budgets or take a break from the market, resulting in
cooling price trends. For instance, by early May in 2021, the
number of sellers making price adjustments2 climbed by
17.8% from the start of the year.
- New supply gives home shoppers more negotiating power:
While supply will remain historically low relative to demand in
2022, buyers are expected to have more options later in the year.
Builders are accelerating production and will begin to make
progress against the new home supply gap. Additionally, new
listings trends are improving in line with the typical seasonality,
as warmer weather and upcoming summer breaks attract more
homeowners into the market. Historically, by mid-August, the number
of sellers with actively-listed homes increased 17.4% over the
beginning of the year, which means more options for buyers and
therefore more competition among sellers.
- Sellers also buying face trade-offs: As conditions
become more favorable for sellers, those who are also buying face a
cart-before-the-horse dilemma: Holding out for peak asking prices
on their listing could also mean paying a premium for the home they
buy. Listing prices typically reach each year's highest level in
the Summer, as they did in July of 2021. Realtor.com®
analysis indicates a similar timeline in 2022, with historical data
suggesting home prices will be up double-digits over the start of
the year by late May (+12.3%). However, with new sellers
historically rising 48.4% over the start of the year by late May,
seller-buyers who delay also face more competition from other
sellers and the possibility of missing out on buying
opportunities.
"We all know that homes are selling lightning fast
right now. But that doesn't necessarily mean your
house will sell itself," said Rachel
Stults, Managing Editor at Realtor.com®.
"Before you list your home this spring—or any other
time this year—make sure you've taken steps to get
ready, including cleaning and decluttering, getting cost estimates
on repairs you might need to make, and talking to agents to see who
would be a good fit for your needs. No matter when you decide to
list, whipping your home into shape beforehand will help you sell
faster and for more money."
1 In this
release, the 2022 Best Time to List week and related metrics are
based on historical trends vs. forecasted projections. See more
details in the methodology below.
2 In this release, price adjustments are defined as home
listings that had their price reduced.
|
Methodology
Listing metrics (e.g. list prices) from
2018-2019 and 2021 were measured on a weekly basis, with each week
compared against a benchmark from the first full week of the year.
Averaging across the years yielded the "typical"
seasonal trend for each metric. Percentile levels for each week
were calculated along each metric (prices, listings, days on
market, etc.), and were then averaged together across metrics to
determine a Best Time to List score for each week. Rankings for
each week were based on these Best Time to List scores.
Please note: The Realtor.com® Listapalooza
described in this release is based on the national best week to
list, which overlaps with 31 of the 50 largest U.S. metros (see
details here).
About
Realtor.com®
Realtor.com® makes
buying, selling, renting and living in homes easier and more
rewarding for everyone. Realtor.com® pioneered the
world of digital real estate more than 25 years ago, and today
through its website and mobile apps offers a marketplace where
people can learn about their options, trust in the transparency of
information provided to them, and get services and resources that
are personalized to their needs. Using proprietary data science and
machine learning technology, Realtor.com® pairs
buyers and sellers with local agents in their market, helping take
the guesswork out of buying and selling a home. For professionals,
Realtor.com® is a trusted provider of consumer
connections and branding solutions that help them succeed in
today's on-demand world.
Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS,
NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. For more information,
visit Realtor.com®.
Media Contact
rachel.conner@move.com
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