Let the Countdown to Realtor.com® Listapalooza Begin! April 10-16 Is the Best Week to List a Home in 2022

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 seasonSellers 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."

MethodologyListing 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 Contactrachel.conner@move.com 

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