The 2021 real estate market will go down as one of the most chaotic in recent memory. Prices increased dramatically as bidding wars and multiple offers ensued.
About 24% of home sellers got at least four offers on their homes. In this kind of market, you’d think that you can sell your house in no time at all.
Despite record demand, the home selling process still takes a while. Read on to learn the steps of the home selling process and home selling timeline.
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How Fast Does a Home Sell?
There are so many variables at work, it’s hard to tell how long a home takes to sell. In the current real estate market, the average home is on the market for 47 days in the United States.
The location of your property is a primary determining factor. Homes in the Orlando metro area spent 43 days on the market, while homes in the Denver metro area spent 33 days on the market.
This doesn’t mean that you’ll get an offer on your home and sell it in 47 days. There are steps that you have to take before you list the home.
Steps of the Home Selling Process
There are a lot of steps involved in selling a house. It starts with the current condition of the house and the location.
You then need to look at the comparable sales in the area to get an idea of your home’s market value. This can take one to two days.
The next step is to hire a top real estate agent. A good real estate agent knows how to set the right price for the home and get it sold quickly.
You don’t want to rush through this step. Get recommendations, research agents online, and interview the top three candidates. Give yourself a couple of weeks to complete this step.
Preparing your home for sale takes time as well. Some homes need more work than others. Work with your agent to determine what needs to be done.
It could be something as simple as a quick cleanup of the yard. This helps you improve the curb appeal of the home. That attracts buyers who have a positive first impression of the home.
Your home might need more intense work before you list it. If so, it would be wise to hire a landscaper to do the work. They’ll do the job quickly and get your home to market faster than you’d do on your own.
Taking care of faucet leaks, broken window panes, appliances, and HVAC systems put your home in a good position to get the most value.
You can quickly modernize your home by changing out cabinet hardware, faucets, and light fixtures. These are quick and inexpensive projects that have a big impact on buyers’ perceptions.
This process could take weeks to do, depending on the amount of work that needs to be done.
Listing the Home
Once the home is staged and ready to go, you have to list the home. You can have professional photographers take photos of the home to show off its best features.
The agent will work on signage, flyers, and postcards to send out to the local area. They’ll write a listing description and post the listing online with the MLS, their own website, and other sites that buyers use to research properties.
This part of the process should take a few days to complete.
Open Houses and Showings
Expect your home to be occupied during the weekend. That’s when buyers are out looking at homes. They’ll visit open houses, and some will see your property online and ask for a showing.
There are other marketing activities that your agent may do on your behalf. They can run digital ad campaigns, hold an open house for other agents, and contact buyers.
Hopefully, you’ll receive offers quickly. This part of the home selling timeline is the most difficult to predict. You could get multiple offers within a few days, or it could take weeks to get the right offer on the home.
Review and Negotiate Offers
As offers come in, you and your agent will review them and choose the best ones. It’s not always about the highest offer.
You could get an offer slightly below market value. That could end up being a cash offer that’s easy to close because it removes a number of steps from the home selling process.
It will take several days to negotiate and review offers.
Inspection
The home goes through inspection about a week after an offer gets accepted. The inspection reveals any structural issues with the home.
It shows items that need to be repaired as well. The results of the inspection could impact the contract. If it shows major items to be repaired, you may need to renegotiate the contract.
The inspector will deliver the report a day or two after the inspection. The negotiation takes another couple of days to complete.
Closing
At this point, you move towards closing. The buyer secures financing (unless it’s a cash offer). The title company and county records department have to update their records.
It takes anywhere from 4-6 weeks after the renegotiation to close on the sale of the home.
How Long Does It Take to Sell a Home?
There are many factors in the home selling process. It could make it difficult to predict how long it will take to sell your home. The national average right now is 47 days.
One thing’s for sure. The more planning and preparation you do before you list the home for sale, the faster it will sell.
Hopefully, you learned the top home selling tips to get the most value out of your home and sell it quickly.
If you liked learning about the home selling process, you’ll enjoy the other articles on the blog. Check them out today!
