For those in the market to buy a home, searching the latest listings can be a perilous adventure. Whether located in the local newspaper or in a national database online, consumers can view hundreds of home listings before finding “the one.”

Last week, Redfin — and online real estate brokerage — published results from a 21-month study of more than 1.2 million listings on the market to find the most opportune time to list a home. Turns out sellers can gain a marginal advantage by timing their listing just so.

According to Redfin’s study, Friday is prime time for sellers to list homes. Consider:

• Homes listed on Friday are toured 19 percent more.
• Homes listed on Friday or Thursday sell for slightly closer to original list price.
• Homes listed on Friday are 12 percent more likely to sell in 90 days.

What gives? Redfin cites the fact consumers tour listing at a rate of two-and-a-half times more on Saturday and Sunday compared to weekdays.

Our theory is that since home buyers tend to tour homes on the weekends, homes listed on Fridays are the freshest in buyers’ minds when they’re making their weekend plans. It also seems likely that many home buyers sort their weekend ‘must see’ lists by date listed, going to see the freshest homes first so they have the best chance of getting in on a potential good deal before other buyers. These factors put homes listed on Friday in front of more touring buyers on the weekend (which our touring data bears out). More tours leads to more offers, and more offers leads to a better price and a better chance of selling.

In this fickle market, improving the numbers by 12 percent here and 19 percent there gives builders a major advantage with no additional investment necessary. It’s something to bear in mind before you introduce your next home to the market.

A recent post by contributor Lou Manfredini talked about better organizing your home for the sake of preserving your sanity and increasing your usable space. But there’s another motivation for some people to banish clutter: selling a house.

The Calfinder Blog shares seven tips for staging your house for a sale, and they start with “get rid of your stuff.” Staging, for those who might not know, is the art (or is it a science) of aesthetically preparing a home so potential buyers get the best possible first impression. Clearing away your own stuff — not just the clutter and the nick-knacks, but as much as is absolutely possible — leaves room, mentally and physically, for the potential buyer to envision his or her stuff.

Other tips include:

• Create activity-specific areas
• Let in the light
• Add colorful accents
• Arrange what you have more stylishly
• Bring nature indoors
• Spruce up the outside

Check out the Calfinder blog for more details, and read more about staging at About.com, another outstanding resource.

Photo courtesy of Real Estaging via Flickr