In real estate, Tuesdays has become a day when agents tend to list properties.  It isn’t a hard and fast rule and people can list whenever they want, but it became a de facto standard for a few reasons.

• It can be a challenge to get paperwork and everything ready on Monday.
• If you list later in the week, it typically takes Realtor.ca up to 24 hours to propagate the listing and if you’re doing an open house (when people actually went to see homes with other people!) it can take up to 48 hours. No point missing buyers looking on the weekend by listing too late in the week.
• Once the weekend actually starts, lots of buyers (and even some agents) are focused on things other than new listings.

We wanted to see if the conventional wisdom about new listings coming out on Tuesday still holds true.  We looked at the listings in Toronto in June 2021 for both freehold and condo properties.  Here’s what we found.

For freehold properties, Tuesday is the most popular and Sunday the least popular.

If we look at the listing dates for freehold properties in Toronto in June 2021 we see the following data.

What’s it mean?  First off, here’s the most popular days of the week to list a freehold home, in descending order:

1. Tuesday is the most popular day with 129 listings on average
2. Then Thursday, with 126 listings on average
3. Then Wednesday, with 116 listings on average
4. Then Monday, with 110 listings on average
5. Then Friday, with 90 listings on average
6. Then Saturday, with 24 listings on average
7. Sunday is the least popular day with just 14 listings on average

While Tuesday does remain the most popular day to list a home, the range from Monday to Thursday is quite tight, going from 110 listings to 129 listings.  Friday starts to see a real dip with just 90 listings on average but it is the weekend where things quite right now.  Saturday has 24 listings hit the market on average and Sunday is the slowest day of the week, with just 14 new listings.

To put it another way, the slowest day of the week (Sunday) sees just 1/11^th of the number of listings on the busiest day of the week (Tuesday).

For condo properties, Wednesday is the most popular and Sunday the least popular.

If we look at the listing dates for condo properties in Toronto in June 2021 we see the following data.

What’s it mean?  It’s not fundamentally different than freehold but there are some variations.  First off, here’s the most popular days of the week to list a condo property, in descending order:

1. Wednesday is (barely) the most popular day with 94 listings on average
2. Then Thursday, with 93 listings on average
3. Then Monday, with 92 listings on average
4. Then Tuesday, with 91 listings on average
5. Then Friday, with 81 listings on average
6. Then Saturday, with 31 listings on average
7. Sunday is the least popular day with just 17 listings on average

While Wednesday is the most popular day to list a condo, given that the range from Monday to Thursday is a very tight 91 to 94 days, it isn’t as if any day prior to Friday really stands out.  Friday is when we see a drop (down to 81 listings) but it isn’t until we hit the weekend that we see a huge drop in activity.  Just like with freehold homes, condo listings slow down hugely on the weekend and Sunday is again the slowest day of the week, with just 17 new listings on average.

To put it another way, the slowest day of the week (Sunday) sees just 1/18^th of the number of listings on the busiest day of the week (Wednesday).

If you’re looking to buy or sell, make sure you work with agents who understand how timing impacts your results.  To talk more about your specific situation, feel free to get in touch.

There are arguments for listing your home for sale on a day when there is less competition, but at the same time it seems quite clear that buyers (and their agents) have become accustomed to far fewer new listings on the weekend.

If you’re a buyer looking to jump the queue, then keeping a close eye on listings on the weekend might be a good opportunity to submit a quick offer on a property that just came on the market.  On the sell side, any day from Monday to Thursday is likely to garner a large number of buyers and agents who expect to see new listings during the week.

If you’re looking to buy or sell, make sure you work with agents who understand how timing impacts your results.  To talk more about your specific situation, feel free to get in touch.