Selling Your House Quickly: 3 Important Factors to Keep in Mind

Are you planning to put your house on sale and hoping to get a deal closed in a matter of days?

Every year, over 500,000 existing homes are sold in the U.S., and the average amount of time such a property sits on the market is anywhere from three to six months.

Clearly, you don’t have the luxury of time. Perhaps you have a pressing financial need or want to relocate soon. Regardless of your specific issue, selling your house quickly isn’t guaranteed.

In fact, there are a couple of factors that will have a direct influence on how fast you can get the property off your hands. Let’s explore them below:

1. Market Conditions at the Time of Listing

Real estate markets typically go through two phases: buyers’ markets and sellers’ markets. It’s a buyers’ market when the supply of homes outstrips the demand, and a sellers’ market occurs when the demand is greater than the supply.

Ideally, you want to put your house on sale when it’s a sellers’ market. This is the time when properties spend the least time on the market as there are many buyers looking to snap up the available homes.

If you have no control over when to list your house, you’ll have to work with the prevailing market conditions. But if you’re wondering when it is the best time to sell my house fast, do so when it’s a sellers’ market.

2. The Condition of the House

For an existing home, most prospective buyers are looking for clean properties that are move-in ready. If your house is in this condition, that’s one barrier out of the way. It means a potential buyer can immediately move to the next step of the purchase process once they’ve confirmed that the house doesn’t need any repairs.

On the other hand, if you’re selling the house as-is and it needs some significant repairs, expect a majority of potential buyers to walk away. The longer it takes to find a buyer willing to make an offer, the more your wish for a fast house sale becomes just that: a wish.

3. Type of Buyer

There are two types of home buyers: cash buyers and lender-financed buyers. The type of buyer you sell your house to has an impact on how quickly you can seal the deal.

For a fast sale, you need a cash buyer. Cash deals can close in less than a week since the buyer just needs to wire the money to an escrow account, after which it will be released to you as soon as the title transfer is complete.

If you’re selling to a buyer who needs a mortgage, the process can take a couple of months, depending on the lender’s mortgage approval timeframes. There’s also a lot more paperwork involved here.

Selling Your House Quickly Is Possible

Selling your house quickly isn’t an impossible task. Although there are many things that might be beyond your control, there are steps you can take, such as strictly selling to a cash buyer, to reduce the time it takes to sell your house.

If you found this article helpful, keep tabs on our blog for more advice and insights on a wide range of subjects.