How Long Does It Take to Sell a House?

The home selling process can be incredibly quick, but it can also drag on for months. What are the factors that determine how long to sell a house, and what can you do to speed things up?

What’s the Average Time to Sell a House?

On average, it takes 55 to 70 days to sell a house, from the day you list a property to the closing date. This timeline includes about 30 days on the market and 30 to 40 days from offer acceptance to closing. Pre-listing preparations can add another month or two. Keep in mind that this is an average; in reality, your home could sell in under a month or take as long as a year.

What Affects the Real Estate Timeline?

Many factors make the process faster or slow it down. When you’re asking “How long does it take for a house to sell?” here are some variables to take into account:

Market Conditions

In a seller’s market, where there are more buyers than inventory, transactions happen quickly. Buyers are competitive in these markets, and they know they need to make a decision and submit an offer before another buyer snaps the property up. In these markets, homes may only stay on the market for a few days or weeks, multiple offers are common, and homes often sell above asking.

Buyers’ markets have a longer real estate timeline. In a buyer’s market, homes stay on the market for 60 to 120 days on average. Buyers know that they have options, so they spend more time viewing homes and negotiating conditions and prices.

Seasonal Fluctuations

Homes listed in the spring and summer have a shorter home selling process. During these periods, buyers are actively looking for homes, resulting in more competition. Families are also eager to close before the start of the school year, so they make offers more quickly.

Fall markets slow down, but demand is still high. Winter is the slowest time of year for home sales, but sometimes a highly motivated seller and buyer find each other. When asking “how long does it take for a house to sell?”, the season can significantly lengthen or shorten the time.

Home Condition

Move-in-ready homes and new homes tend to sell faster than properties that need significant repairs or have outdated features. Sellers who want to speed up their real estate timeline should consider cost-effective ways to update their homes. Doing a thorough cleaning and getting professional staging and photography can go a long way toward making the home more appealing to buyers.

Pricing

Homes that are well priced tend to sell more quickly. Overpriced homes sell more slowly, partly because buyer interest is lower, and partly because this pricing strategy can lead to stale listings.

Entry-level homes, those priced at between $200,000 and $400,000, have a shorter real estate timeline than luxury homes because the buyer pool is larger. Mid-range homes priced at between $400,000 and $800,000 fall somewhere in the middle, with steady demand but longer negotiation periods.

Location and Neighborhood

Popular, high-demand urban areas have shorter real estate timelines, as do suburban homes located close to amenities like schools, parks, and transit lines. Homes in rural areas and declining markets have a smaller buyer pool and don’t sell as quickly.

Many of these factors influence each other. For example, suburban homes sell more quickly during the spring and summer, and luxury homes are less affected by market conditions than mid-range houses. The dynamics can be tricky, but the more you understand them, the better equipped you’ll be to sell your home on your preferred timeline.

How to Sell Your House Faster

If you want to speed up the home selling process, here are some tips to get things moving:

Prepare Your Home for Sale

Make your home appealing to buyers by:

• Decluttering so that potential buyers can picture themselves in the space.
• Staging your home professionally to make it look bigger and more appealing.
• Making small repairs to issues that might affect the buyer’s perceptions, such as chipped paint, loose doorknobs, or dripping taps.
• Landscaping your property for optimal curb appeal to make a strong first impression.
• Deep-cleaning your home or hiring professional cleaners to do it.

Use Strategic Pricing

Pricing plays a vital role in determining how long to sell a home. Price your home competitively, based on market conditions and comparables in your area rather than what you believe the home is worth. Ask your real estate agent for a comprehensive market analysis to evaluate your pricing strategy.

Market Aggressively

Marketing is more important now than ever. Fortunately, there are many tricks to speeding up the home selling process through effective marketing. These include:

• Hiring a professional real estate photographer to take photos and video of your property. This should include drone photography if the home is on a large lot or located near desirable features such as bodies of water or large parks.
• Listing your home across platforms, including social media.

Be Flexible and Available

Be prepared for showings at any time to increase the number of buyers who walk through your house. Respond to offers quickly and remain available to your real estate agent. Be flexible on terms and conditions, and accommodating to the home inspector, appraiser, and anyone else who needs to access your home during the closing period. If your home doesn’t sell quickly, consider adjusting the list price to avoid a stale listing.

How Long Does It Take for a House to Sell?

Needless to say, “it depends!” The home selling process can be as short as 2 months or as long as a year. The good news is that you can speed that timeline up if you’re in a rush to sell. Working with an experienced real estate agent who has thorough knowledge of your area will help you get the real estate timeline that matches your needs.