The Complete Home-Selling Timeline: Here’s How Long It Takes To Sell a House Today—or Speed It Up
As a result of home prices reaching all-time highs around the nation, several homeowners may come to the conclusion that now is the best time to sell their properties. How long does it typically take to sell a house in today’s market?
Buyers are snapping up properties at an unprecedented rate in today’s red-hot seller’s market, which is favorable to sellers. However, even if everything goes perfectly, it will take the sellers at least a month, and in most cases three months, to get their house in selling condition and finalize the transaction. It is possible that the sale of your home will be delayed even further if major repairs are required, if the price is not set appropriately, or if the home is not displayed in an appealing manner.
The following is an outline of some of the phases involved in selling a house, along with an estimated amount of time needed to complete each step on average. We have also mentioned what can cause things to move more slowly, as well as what you can do to get things along more quickly if you’re in a hurry. This timeline will help you prepare and plan accordingly, regardless of whether you intend to sell in the near future or are simply curious about how long the process will take.
The process of selling a house can be broken down into ten distinct parts.
1. Engage in refurbishment and maintenance work.
2. Locate a listing agent in your area
3. Determine how much your home is now worth.
4. Remove unnecessary items from your area and stage it.
5. Create an online listing that includes a description, photos, and video.
6. Organize house viewings and open houses.
7. While you wait for an offer (or offers), negotiate the best possible deal for yourself.
8. If you decide to take an offer, wait for the house inspection and appraisal to be completed.
9. Finalize the transaction
10. Get away of here!
1. Engage in refurbishment and maintenance work.
Two weeks to many months is the typical wait time.
Even though this phase has a great deal of leeway for variation, it usually takes a typical homeowner anywhere from two weeks to a month to get their house ready to sell. It is very dependent on the state of your home, the amount of money you are willing to invest, and the amount of time you have until you need to move.
However, in the event that you are tempted to take shortcuts, you should be aware that it will truly pay off for you to do some advance preparation.
Nathaniel Hovsepian, a real estate investor and the founder of The Expert Home Buyers, states that “smaller-scope repairs can take as little as a day or two and would only require you to find a handyman that you trust to have the work done.” In order to get the work done. “Larger repairs or upgrades can take weeks or even months, and you will need to devote some more hands-on time to finding a contractor you trust and then staying on top of them to make sure the work is getting done,” the article states. “If you want the work to get done on time, you will need to stay on top of them.”
The survey that was done by Realtor.com in 2022 found that sixty percent of homeowners had planned to make repairs or upgrades to their property before putting it up for sale. The majority of respondents (94%) ranked landscaping as the most important home improvement project, closely followed by the installation of modest cosmetic changes such as new light fixtures or faucets (88%) and touch-up painting (87%).
A significant number of survey participants had also completed substantial repairs, including the replacement of important systems such as HVAC and hot water (85%) and the rebuilding of the roof (68%). It should come as no surprise that more intricate tasks like that will require more time than more straightforward facelifts.
Having your own personal independent pre-inspection of the property carried out by a home inspector is one approach to obtain a sense of the things that need to be fixed before putting your home up for sale.
According to Jason Gelios, author of “Think Like a Realtor” and real estate agent with Community Choice Realty in Southeast Michigan, “Every homeowner who is looking to sell their home should obtain a pre-listing inspection to get their own report card of the condition of their home.” This recommendation comes from the author of “Think Like a Realtor.
This would give a home seller specific information as to what needs to be addressed in an effort to not be surprised when a potential homebuyer has their own inspection on the home,” says Gelios, who also adds that this would prevent the seller from being taken aback by the results of the potential homebuyer’s inspection.
2. Locate a listing agent in your area
Two to ten days is the typical range.
According to Elizabeth Sugar Boese, a real estate investor and agent with Coldwell Banker in Colorado, “Finding a listing agent may be as easy as making a phone call,” and 82% of sellers only talk to one agent before moving forward with a listing agreement. On the other hand, she does not recommend using this strategy.
She explains that it is important to take your time when selecting a listing agent.
According to Bruce Ailion, an attorney and real estate agent with Re/Max in Atlanta, “A thoughtful search is necessary for the greatest transaction in most people’s lives, one with a substantial economic consequence and a high degree of complexity that requires knowledge and specialised talents.
According to Ailion, the best method is to meet with three to five agents, examine their training and experience, comprehend their marketing approach, and evaluate their capabilities and recommendations.
You should really try to get your listing agent to come to your house so that the expert can get a feel for the place. You may even find a selling agent before you start making repairs to obtain the agent’s opinion on what exactly has to be updated and what can slide in today’s market. This would allow you to prioritise the work that needs to be done.
When it comes to selling your property, an agent is your most trusted sounding board and has the potential to save you both time and money throughout the entire process. Because of this, it is in your best interest to do some comparison shopping and make sure you choose the right professional.
3. Determine how much your home is now worth.
Time range: one hour to two weeks on average
The valuation of your home is a necessary process that should not be rushed through because of its significance. To get started, you can go online and look at one of the various automated valuation models, often known as AVMs, that are available for real estate. You can obtain various estimates based on the industry’s most advanced AVMs, for instance, on the “myhome” section of Realtor.com.
To correctly price your home, however, it is best to rely on the expertise of your listing agent. This is because the expert will use comparable properties in your area, also known as comps, to triangulate and get a real-world, feet-on-the-ground idea of what your home will sell for in the current market.
According to Hale, “the skill of an agent is not something that can be replaced by an automated valuation algorithm.” “Once you’ve found your agent, this is a significant step in the process, and an area for them to showcase their expertise on the local market and the best strategy for getting your home sold,” the sentence reads. “Once you’ve found your agent, this is a significant step in the process,” the sentence continues.
4. Remove unnecessary items from your area and stage it.
The survey from Realtor.com found that two-thirds of sellers cleaned and DE cluttered their home before offering it for sale. This is because making a property look as appealing as possible to homebuyers is one of the most effective ways to sell a house. You should not skip this step in the process. Nevertheless, DE cluttering can be a time-consuming process, particularly if you’ve been living in the same location for a significant amount of time.
According to real estate expert Joshua Blackburn, director of design and construction for Evolving Home, “for decluttering, it takes an average of one week per room to declutter a house in preparation for a move-out,” Blackburn adds.
Beginning your preparations for a sale as early as possible is highly recommended.
According to Blackburn, “Give family members adequate time to sift through their stuff mindfully. Decluttering may be a sentimental journey for some, and it helps homeowners transition to emotionally move out of the house they are ready to sell.”
On the other side, home staging can be completed in a reasonable amount of time. Staging a house of an average size can take anywhere from five to ten hours, according to Blackburn, but the process can take as long as three days depending on how much attention to detail is paid.
“The longer it takes to stage a home, the larger and emptier it is,” he says, “since it involves more effort to fill the space.” “The longer it takes to stage a home, the larger and emptier it is.”
Some owners choose to employ the services of staging companies for this same reason.
Although not all sellers decide to stage their property, it is a tried-and-true approach for attracting buyers that can assist you in selling your home quickly and for the highest possible price.
According to Boese, “the only way to acquire several bids to drive up the price of your home is to present your home in such a way that everyone wants to live there.” This is the only method to increase the likelihood of getting multiple offers. “Staging is all about selling the fantasy of a certain kind of existence.” In the real world, we have messy countertops, toys that are either strewn over the floor or piled up in a corner, and photos of our family and friends that are hung on the walls in no particular order. This is not a dream; this is the way things actually are. Staging allows one to fantasies about what their life may be like in the space being staged. Staging sells!”
5. Create an online listing that includes a description, photos, and video.
Time range: one hour to two weeks on average
Your real estate agent is responsible for putting together your listing, just like they are for many of the other steps in the process of selling your house.
According to Hovsepian, “A reputable listing agent is going to have an in-house camera crew that will come take pictures of your house and even do video walk-throughs and flyovers with drones in some cases.” This camera crew will come take pictures of your house and even do video walk-throughs and flyovers with drones in some cases. You will be able to plan this ahead of time as you are seeing the repairs and staging of your house get closer to completion. “High-volume [agents] will normally be a few days out to get their camera crew scheduled,”
The availability of the photographer and/or videographer is one of the factors that could cause this stage of the procedure to go at a slower pace.
Gelios says, “while I have seen these professionals come out within a week or two of being told,” but he acknowledges that this time frame is not always the case.
6. Organize house viewings and open houses.
The typical range is between one and four weeks.
After a piece of real estate has been placed on the market, there is likely to be a flurry of activity in the form of home showings, frequently occurring within the first day or week.
According to Gelios, even though a house seller typically has complete control over the scheduling of showings on their property, they should nevertheless make every effort to be accommodating with prospective homebuyers who are eager to visit their home. “I have seen homes just sit there because of all these crazy demands like only allowing showings for two hours a day, not being flexible to last-minute showings, or any other factor that causes homebuyers to skip viewing the property,” said the witness. “I have seen homes just sit there because of all these crazy demands like only allowing showings for two hours a day.”
In most cases, a showing requires a notice period of twelve to twenty-four hours in advance, during which time you and your pets are expected to vacate the premises, and any valuables should be secured. The presentations will typically last between 15 and 30 minutes.
As you are working with the time frames that the purchasers have provided, there is no real way to speed up or slow down this process, according to Hovsepian.
You need to provide prospective purchasers advance notice that an open house will be held, and the minimum amount of time that should pass between listing the home for sale and holding the open house is one week, or immediately after the home is placed on the market.
7. While you wait for an offer (or offers), negotiate the best possible deal for yourself.
Two days up to a month or more is the typical waiting time.
When it comes to the amount of time it takes for offers to come in, every market is a little bit different.
According to Boese, “in this red-hot seller’s market, entry-level homes may potentially have numerous offers filed before the conclusion of the first weekend on the market.” “Luxury home construction takes a little bit more time.
After an offer has been made to you, there is no requirement for you to immediately accept it.
According to Hovsepian, “We usually advise giving your house at least 72 hours, or a weekend, on the market in order to get as many eyes on it as possible before accepting any offers made to you.” This is because the more people who see your home, the more likely it is that someone will make an offer on it.
The reason you should hold off is that there is a possibility that a deal that is even more favourable than the one you currently have will become available in the near future.
Between twenty-four and forty-eight hours is the amount of time that is typically allowed for a house seller to respond to an offer.
On the other hand, “When you have a shortage of properties on the market like we are witnessing in 2022,” adds Gelios, “the deadline set to the seller is more lenient, because buyers really don’t have a choice.” This is the situation in which we find ourselves in 2022. In spite of this, “I would urge that every house seller should provide a response back within forty-eight hours, unless many offers are received, which might mean a deadline is established for all purchasers to provide their highest and best offer.”
8. If you decide to take an offer, wait for the house inspection and appraisal to be completed.
The typical duration is three weeks.
When you finally find a deal that works for you, accepting it won’t take you long at all.
According to Hovsepian, this process “often takes about an hour or so and consists of you signing on the dotted lines of the offer you’re accepting and then submitting it to a title company or closing attorney, depending on how your state performs this stage.”
Next up? A buyer might perform some due diligence in the form of a house inspection and a home appraisal before making a purchase.
According to Gelios, “the most usual duration of time mentioned in a purchase agreement for the time period during which a house inspection must be completed is seven days.” “This is from the moment the offer was signed until the time when the homebuyer has to make a decision on whether or not to move forward with the transaction,
The following step, which could take another two weeks or longer, is the appraisal. This step is necessary if the buyer plans to use a mortgage to finance the purchase of the property.
According to Boese, “In certain places, the appraisal process can be completed quite quickly; however, in Colorado, where I work, there is a major scarcity of appraisers, and the turnaround time is approximately three weeks.”
This waiting period can cause some impatience among home sellers, so if you’d prefer to close faster than that, it would be helpful to let your listing agent know up front that you prefer a faster close with fewer contingencies. If you’d like to close faster than that, it would help to let your listing agent know up front that you prefer a faster close with fewer contingencies.
According to Yifan Zhang, founder of the company Loftium and provider of the host-to-own service, “They can communicate with buyer’s representatives to convey your preferences.” Many people who are selling their homes for the first time are unaware of the fact that having open communication with their real estate agent can make a significant impact on the kind of offers they receive.
9. Finalize the transaction
The typical range is between 10 and 45 days.
The lender is the primary factor that is delaying the closing on a house. The vast majority of purchasers will need some form of finance, and it could take some time before they are able to attend the closing table.
If, on the other hand, you are fortunate enough to have a buyer who is willing to pay in cash, the transaction may be finalized in as little as ten to fourteen days.
According to Ailion, “a cash transaction can conclude more quickly and is more certain than a deal that is financed.” You should seriously consider accepting an all-cash offer if completing the transaction as quickly as possible is one of your top priorities.
In that case, you will be need to wait.
Once an offer has been accepted, the entire process of selling a home can take anywhere from 30 to 45 days, according to Gelios, who works in the real estate industry. “A home seller should expect the complete process to take between 30 to 45 days,” adds Gelios. “When it comes time for the final authorization, the lender will announce that the file is ‘cleared to close,’ which means that both parties are free to select a date and time to sign the final documents,”
10. Get away of here!
Average time: 30 days
Once a property has been transferred to the buyer at closing, the most usual time range that is negotiated for the seller to vacate the property is thirty days. Some home sellers will seek additional time (e.g., 45 or 60 days). In addition, the seller has the option of requesting that the buyer sign a post-closing occupancy agreement, in which the buyer grants the seller the right to remain in the home after the closing, either rent-free or in exchange for a payment.
