If you have decided on selling your home, one of the most common questions that you will have is how long it takes to sell it. First and foremost, you must understand that there is no guaranteed timeline when you sell a home. Every property, every market, and every sale will be different in terms of how long the property stays listed and final sale timelines.
Below, you will find 8 steps in selling a home and how long the process will approximately take.
Step 1: Finding An Agent
Approximate Time: 1 week
First, you need to find a property agent to help sell your home. Screening through a list of agents is very important because not all agents have the same approach, pricing or expertise. Instead of opting for the first agent you come across, you should interview several agents and make sure that their approach is in line with your needs and budget.
Step 2: Meeting Your Agent
Approximate Time: 1 week
Your agent will meet with you to build a competitive marketing strategy for your home and will also recommend a listing price as per the latest property market value. The agent will then advise you on how to better prepare your home to boost buyer interest.
Step 3: Preparing Your Home
Approximate Time: 1 week
Tidying, clearing up and preparing your home for viewing is important. A messy home can distract potential buyers from your home’s best features and it can be a cause of concern to them on how well you have maintained your home during all those years that you’ve stayed there. It goes without saying that a tidy home without much prominent damages is more likely to convince the buyer that you have been keeping the house in ship shape.
Step 4: Photographing Your Home
Approximate Time: 1 week
An experienced property agent will tell you that quality photos of your home are important for getting a positive and good-looking listing of your property. Considering that 95% of home searches begin online, having low-quality photos is a bad option. After you’ve tidied up your home and put away the clutter, your agent will arrange for a photoshoot of your home.
Step 5: Marketing
Approximate Time: 1 week
Once you have the photographs, your agent will collect all marketing materials to help sell your home, either through online or print. They will also help you create a listing description that showcases all the features of your home.
Step 6: Opening Your Home For Viewing
Approximate Time: 6 weeks
Once your listing is posted, potential buyers will start calling up to come view your home. You will never know how many people will be viewing your home before you finally receive the first offer. You could get an offer after the first showing, or it could take more time depending on the market, competition and pricing.
Step 7: Responding to Offers And Negotiating
Approximate Time: Up to a week
Once you start receiving offers, it is time to evaluate. If you receive more than a few offers, your agent can help you weigh them and will often ask all buyers to submit “best and final” offers to cut out the negotiations. In certain scenarios, a lower offer can be more appealing, such as when the buyer is paying in cash or if they have lesser home options to view than other buyers.
Do bear in mind that continuously waiting out on a negotiation won’t always give you a higher offer. A home listing will generally get the most attention when it is first put up on the market. If your home has been on listings for a long period of time, it will become more difficult for you to receive an offer within your expected price range. Ask your agent on how your home listing can be better targeted to speed up the sale.
Step 8: Closing Time
Approximate Time: 6 weeks
There are a few reasons that this can be one of the most stressful periods for you:
- You are prepared to pack up to leave your home.
- Before you hand over the keys, there are still obstacles to get through that can create delays or cause the deal to be cancelled.
So, what can happen during this time period?
Inspection: While a home inspection will usually take a day, the results of it can sometimes stretch the timeline. If problems come up during inspection, buyers might ask the seller to repair it at the seller’s cost. If the repairs will be very costly or time-consuming, the buyer might choose to cancel the deal altogether.
Buyer’s Home Sale: This is a less-than-ideal situation for the seller because they have to rely on the buyer’s home sale to go through before they can close the deal on their own home.
Valuation: Banks require buyers to get the home’s valuation done to determine the property’s actual worth. If the valuation comes in low, buyers will have to pay the difference between the offer and the valuation price or cancel the sale.
Property Title: Every home sale has to go through a title search to make sure there’s no issues that would prevent a sale.
Buyer’s Loan Application: Until the deal is closed, there is a risk of the buyer’s home loan application getting rejected. Anything dramatically impacting the buyer’s credit profile could potentially jeopardise the loan application. The current situation in the global economy has caused financial issues to become more common among many.
In Conclusion
The time it takes to sell a house depends on the price, location, market dynamics and property characteristics. Your goals, timeline and your own personal decisions will affect the duration it takes to sell your home. A good rule of thumb is to plan for at least three months from beginning to end.
Feel free to drop us a message here if you need any assistance in selling your home.
The statement and information in the articles are the opinion of the writer and meant only as a guide. Any property purchase, rental or lease involve many legal issues and other complication depending on the individual facts and circumstances. Readers and Users are strongly advised to seek professional advise including from qualified and competent lawyers, bankers and/or real estate agent to verify the information and the statement before embarking on any purchase, rent or lease of any property. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we exclude and disclaim liability for any losses and damages of whatever nature and howsoever cause and arising including without limitation, any direct, indirect, general, special, punitive, incidental or consequential.
