Helpful Tips for Selling a Home Quickly

Are you looking for a faster home sale turnaround? 

When selling a property, it’s not just about listing it and finding a potential buyer. A traditional home sale requires a lot of steps, which makes selling a home quickly sound like a fairytale. From determining your home’s market value to finding the right real estate agent, the process can take a while. And sometimes, it takes a lot of waiting for the right buyer to turn up as well. Fortunately, there are several ways you can speed up the process—and we’re here to show you how. 

How Long Do Most Houses Take to Sell?

Whether you’re selling house due to job relocation or you know when to downsize to a smaller property, it’s important to understand how the process works. A home sale, from deciding to sell until signing the forms on closing day, can be split into three stages: 

1. Preparation – This stage depends on the state of your property and your goals; many sellers spend between two and four weeks on repairs and upgrades. This can be as quick as landscaping to improve curb appeal or major renovations inside the home to enhance market value. 

2. Days on market – The most common metric measured is days on market (DoM), which starts when you list the house for sale and ends when you sign a contract with the buyer. As of June 2023, the national DoM median was 44 days. 

3. Contract to closing – Finally, the average time it takes to get to closing is 43 days.

In total, the average sale takes about 2.5 months. 

7 Tips for Selling a Home Quickly

While this timeline might work for some, others may want, or need, to sell their house fast. Luckily, there are a few ways to speed it up. 

Ready to roll up your sleeves and get started? Here are seven tips that can help you actively trim the timeline on your home sale process. 

#1: Find the Quick Fixes

Most home buyers want a move-in-ready experience. If you’re pitching a fixer-upper, you’ve already reduced your pool of potential buyers—and fewer buyers means more time waiting for the right offer. 

To that end, focus on repairs and improvements you can get done quickly to attract more potential buyers to your home. 

#2: Time It Right

Another way to sell a house quickly is to time it right. One of the most important questions you’ll want to ask is, should I sell my house now or wait? 

Compare the DoM average of 44 days in June 2023 to 72 days in January 2023, and you’ll see that you can sell quicker in warmer months, particularly May. 

ATTOM Data Solutions went a step further to determine that you’ll have the best results by listing on a Thursday.

#3: Clean and Clean Again

A little dust on the mantle shouldn’t turn off a logical buyer, but seeing a home that’s spic and span sends the message that this property has been carefully looked after by a fastidious owner. To sell your home fast, make sure you’re showing off a clean and decluttered place. Cleaning to speed up a sale can include: 

• Initial deep cleaning (steam-clean carpets, wash windows and drapery, etc.)
• Power-washing exterior siding, garage doors, walkways, etc.
• Keeping it clean throughout all stages: appraisal, viewing, inspection

#4: Declutter and Stage Your Home

While a potential buyer is looking at the property itself, the way you display the living spaces can influence their view. Box and store family photos, dust catchers, and crowded furniture. Strive for a clean, minimal appearance that complements each room’s use and structure. Make sure walkways are clear and lighting is optimized.

#5: Price It Right

Pricing is a tricky process—if it’s too low, you reduce your negotiating power and can lose money. If it’s too high, the price tag can scare off potential buyers, and your home can sit on the market for longer. 

Find the prices of comparable homes around your neighborhood to help you decide. You can also Get a professional appraisal and work with your realtor to land the right asking price.

#6: Ramp Up the Marketing

Don’t sit back and let your realtor handle all the marketing—if you’re looking to close quickly, take advantage of every opportunity to get the word out.

A home seller’s real estate agent will typically handle an open house, yard signage, and MLS listing. Talk to them about how you can boost marketing, such as: 

• Additional online site listings
• Social media posts and ads
• Asking friends, family, and colleagues to share the news

#7: Offer Incentives

The initial offer, contingency requests, post-inspection addendums—there are multiple stages of negotiation between buyer and seller. Use them to offer incentives that shorten the time to closing. This could include: 

• Closing deadlines as a bargaining point
• Covering closing costs for buyers with tight budgets
• A repair allowance instead of completing repairs
• Allowing buyers to keep furniture or appliances that reduce their move-in costs
• Pre-paying property taxes
• Offering a home warranty

Consider a Sale-Leaseback

What if you could skip the steps of securing real estate agents, listing your home, and locating buyers? A residential sale-leaseback (SLB) with a reputable investor-landlord does just that, and it also offers quick closing options. You can put in as much time as you like prior to a professional appraisal—or simply skip the staging and sell as-is. 

There are many sale-leaseback benefits to consider. An SLB helps you quickly close on a sale and convert 100% of your equity to cash without realtor shopping, listing, marketing, or waiting on buyer financing. Plus, it gives you the flexibility of staying in your home as a renter for as long as you choose—and frees you up from paying property tax, homeowner’s insurance, and covered repairs and maintenance during that time.

Key Takeaways

Although selling a home usually takes multiple months, you can trim that time by making strategic choices and taking active steps in preparing, staging, and marketing your property. 

You may be able to trade money for time if your budget allows by offering concessions such as repair allowances, home warranties, or closing cost coverage. You can also speed the sale by preparing your home well, marketing the sale, and listing your home on a Thursday. 

A sale-leaseback is another option to sell quickly, especially if you opt for an as-is sale. You’ll save time by working with a specific buyer and avoiding listing and marketing your home or negotiating with individual buyers limited by financing.

Sources: 

1. Neumann, Kimberly Dawn. “The Complete Home-Selling Timeline: Here’s How Long It Takes To Sell a House Today—or Speed It Up.” Realtor.com. Jun 23, 2022. https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/home-selling-timeline-how-long-it-takes-to-sell-a-house/
2. “Housing Inventory: Median Days on Market in the United States.” FRED. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEDDAYONMARUS
3. Hirsch, Adrian E. “How Long Does It Take to Sell a House? (Spring 2023).” HomeLight. April 27th, 2023. https://www.homelight.com/blog/how-long-does-it-take-to-sell-a-house/
4. Taylor, Mia. “How long does it take to sell a house?” Bankrate. April 18, 2023. https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/how-long-to-sell-a-house/