How Long Does It Take to Sell a House?
Once you’ve decided it’s officially time to sell your house, one of the first questions first-time home sellers will ask is, “how long does it take to sell a house?”. Naturally, the hope is always to sell the home as quickly as possible, but unfortunately, that is not always the case.
If selling your home fast is the goal, there are a number of factors you should consider. The location of the home, the home’s condition, your asking price, and more will all be things that potential buyers take into consideration before making an offer on a home.
What Should You Do First?
Before putting your house up for sale, you should know that the average home spends anywhere from 30 days to 95 days on the market before it is sold. However, the amount of time it takes for your house to sell may be shorter than a month or longer than three months. No one can really tell you for sure how long it will take for your house will sell; however, there are things you can do that may help your home sell more quickly.
Before you call that realtor or place that “for sale by owner” sign in your front yard, give your home a deep clean and make some needed repairs. A dirty, cluttered house with chipped baseboards and missing drawer handles will be much more difficult to sell.
If any bigger home improvements are needed, now is the time to do them. You should also make sure that each room looks light and airy because a dim room looks like you have something to hide. Other tips for making your home look more appealing will follow.
How Much Should You List Your House For?
One of the biggest questions home sellers have is how much they can actually get for their home. Fortunately, pricing your home properly is fairly straightforward these days thanks to the Internet.
You can quickly go online and find out what houses around you are selling for and get general estimates from numerous sources for how much your home should be worth. Of course, the online resources may not factor in any improvements or additions you’ve made to the home so always use these estimates as a starting point.
When you sell a home, one of the best things you can do is speak with a realtor or home investor who is familiar with the local market. Local real estate professionals will have a much better idea of what a home will go for in the current market. They’ll also help you identify any quick fixes or easy upgrades that may help you get more for your home.
When Should You List Your Home?
The time of year can also make big a difference when selling a home. Of course, no two houses or markets are alike, but as a general rule, the spring or summer months are usually the best for home sales.
One reason for this is because prospective buyers, most of whom are parents, want to purchase a home and move before the start of the school year. The weather is also typically better in the spring and summer months which makes showing a home a bit easier and more pleasant.
This doesn’t mean that the other three seasons are a bust when it comes to finding home-buying prospects; indeed, people buy houses all year long. It just means that the summer months tend to have more people out there looking to purchase a home than the other seasons do.
Getting the Help You Need
Don’t worry, most first time home sellers will wonder “how long does it normally take to sell a house” – you’re in good company! As you now know, there are a number of factors that will go into the length of time your home spends on the market, but at the end of the day it all boils down to supply and demand.
In simple terms, attractive homes in great locations with all of the bells and whistles will generally sell quicker than ugly houses in bad locations that need a lot of work. This doesn’t mean that an ugly house won’t sell though – there are always options.
You can always enlist outside help if you need to, and much of this assistance is free. For example, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) offers tips, suggestions, and answers to questions to help you with everything from deciding on a price to what to expect come closing day. A lot of this information is found directly on their website.
Real estate agents are also there to help, and they are the experts you’ll want when you wish to get a handle on the local real estate markets. Again, each market has its own characteristics and time frames to sell a home, so you might as well take advantage of this free help at every opportunity.
If you want to work with a company that buys homes for cash like SFL Partners, you can skip a lot of these steps and get your money in about a week. We buy homes all across South Florida, no matter the condition, the location, or the market in that area.
Research, Research, Research
We’ve all heard the phrase, “location, location, location” when it comes to buying a house or property. However, if you’re the seller, you’ll also want to do a lot of research before that “for sale” sign gets put up in your yard.
For one, there are parts of the sales process that you may not be aware of. For example, prospective buyers will likely want their contract to be contingent on a satisfactory home inspection.
It’s also good to do some research on the status of your local market. It’s good to understand if the local market is a “buyer’s” market or a “seller’s” market so that you can maximize the amount you get for your home.
It’s also important to take a step back and look at your home from a buyer’s perspective. Home sellers often do not take the time needed to look at things from a buyer’s point of view, mostly because they are too anxious to sell their home.
Carefully consider the condition of your home, your asking price, and any other factors that may add or remove value from your home. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes and honestly consider if it’s a deal that you would be interested in.
Although no one can guarantee that your home will sell in a certain amount of time, there are definitely things you can do to increase the odds that it will sell sooner rather than later.
So, How Long Does It Take to Sell a House?
Figuring out how long it will take to sell your home isn’t an exact science, but there are little things you can do to make your home look more enticing and homey to prospective buyers, including:
- Declutter everything – including your closets.
- Spruce up your kitchen and dining room. Set the table to make it look more inviting.
- Set fresh flowers out in the living room or dining room.
- Make sure your house is CLEAN.
- Open all of your blinds and curtains.
- Make sure your windows are clean so the natural light comes through.
- Rent a storage room for unappetizing or bulky items that just don’t look good in your home.
Furthermore, because buyers demand much more than they did even a decade ago, you should have an online presence for your home. Make sure lots of pictures are included on this site of both the interior and exterior of your home.
The more pictures, the better, and if you choose not to go with a realtor, you should seriously consider hiring a professional photographer to take those pictures. Great pictures will increase the odds that the number of days on the market for your house is a small one.
Finally, if you go with a realtor and he or she schedules an appointment to bring a buyer into the home, you should leave the house so that they can take their time looking at it.
Prospective buyers sometimes feel awkward when the owner is in the home while they’re viewing it, and they’ll usually spend more time inside the house if you’re not there.
Selling A House To A Cash Home Buyer
Unfortunately, there is no “standard” timeframe when it comes to how long it takes to sell a home. Sometimes the process takes weeks, sometimes months, and in some situations, it can even take years before the right buyer comes along.
At the end of the day though, it will always boil down to a few things – your asking price, the condition of the home, and the home’s location. It should come as no surprise that an attractive home in a great location will typically sell more quickly than an ugly home in a bad location.
However, if your home is run down, needs to be repaired, is in a bad location, or is even in foreclosure, you still have options. Instead of going the traditional real estate route, you can work with a local home investor and sell your home for cash.
At SFL Partners, we will give you a fair, no-obligation cash offers on your home in about 24 hours. Best of all, once you accept the offer, we’ll be able to close in about one week. Unlike other cash home buyers, we’re not in it for the “quick flip” – we make long-term investments in properties. This means that on average we can offer more for your home than most of the other guys will without the headache of low-ball offers and lengthy negotiations.
If you’re interested in getting a no-obligation offer for your home, the process is easy! We’ll just need your name, contact information, and the property address. Click here to get started now.
