How Long Does It Take to Sell a Home? Here’s a Timeline

Many homebuyers have one big item on their to-do list after they find their dream home: sell their current home. How long will that take? Let’s look at the factors that impact how fast your home sells, and a timeline for the selling process.

Factors Impacting Your Home Sale

• Current market
  If there are more buyers than sellers in the current market, your home should sell fast. If the market’s glutted with inventory, hang tight because selling will take longer.
• Your home’s condition
  Move-in-ready homes are attractive to a wider array of buyers and typically sell faster than fixer-uppers.
• Time of year
  Many people move in the summer, when their kids are out of school. Your house may get snapped up in days if you’re selling during the summer, but may sit for weeks if it’s on the market in the dead of winter.
• Your real estate ad
  Marketing is priceless. Descriptive language like “expansive, gorgeous, spacious” gets buyers’ attention and makes them want to see the property.

Timeline for Selling Your Home

An average timeline for selling your home includes:

• Listing (pricing your home): 2 days
  You and your real estate agent should go through your home, look at comps, and discuss a listing price. It should be reasonable and fair to you and the buyer. Keep in mind how buyers budget. For example, they may want to stay below $300,000. In these cases, pricing of $299,900 may get you more interest than $305,000.
• Showings: 1-2 weeks
  Be prepared for multiple showing starting the day after your home hits the market. Keep it clean and neat to make the best impression with buyers.
• Accepting an Offer: 2 hours-10 days
  This part of the selling process can vary greatly. If a buyer makes you a reasonable offer, the process may go fast. However, if you receive multiple offers or lowball offers, or if the buyers want several contingencies, the back-and forth negotiations may drag out for several days.
  
• Inspections and Repairs: 1-2 weeks
  The inspection will only take a couple of hours, then the inspector will write up his report within a couple of days. Once the buyer reviews it, they may request you to make repairs based on what was found. The time to complete these (if you decide to) can vary based on the repair person’s schedule and the scope of the work.
• Title Search: 7days-2 weeks
  Ensuring you have a clear title to the property may take a week or two, depending on how much work it takes for the title company to clear it and how busy they are.
• Appraisal: 5 days-2 weeks
  Appraisers must look at the property and write up the report. This can go fast or slow, depending on how much other work the appraiser is handling. The appraiser sends a copy to the mortgage loan company and borrower.

Closing: 2 hours
Once it’s here (finally!), closing day typically only takes a couple of hours.