How Long it Takes to Sell a House

Once you’ve decided to sell your house, odds are you’ll want to sell quickly. The amount of time it takes will depend on factors like market conditions, location and curb appeal, and can be months—especially in the traditional real-estate market. Selling off-market, as you would with Sundae, however, takes a fraction of the time. Here’s what you need to know about the selling process, so you’ll be prepared to jump in.

Process for selling a house

What potential home buyers are looking for can be subjective, but all home sellers have to go through the same basic stages. Let’s break it down:

Listing the property

While some homeowners opt to list their houses for sale by owner, many seek a real estate agent to ease the process, and finding one you’re comfortable with can take time. Then the listing process itself takes about 3 to 5 days. This is when you and your agent decide on the asking price (or listing price) and they—or you, if going the FSBO route—gather info on your home such as square footage, photos, upgrades and special features before listing it on the multiple listing service (MLS). Then comes decluttering, landscaping, and otherwise prepping for showings and open houses.

With Sundae, you can skip the agent search and the prep work. We’ll learn about your property, schedule a home visit and then prepare your listing complete with photos and a 3D tour.

• Average time: 1–2 weeks to find an agent; 3–5 days to prepare listing
• Average time with Sundae: 15-minute phone call; home visit at your convenience

Accepting an offer

Once you start receiving offers, you’ll need to review the terms and consider all contingencies before accepting or making a counteroffer. Depending on local market trends—typical home prices, and whether it’s a seller’s market or buyer’s market—you may receive multiple offers at once or you may have to wait a bit. The time of year can also play a role.

• Average time: 21 days on market (+/-)
• Average time with Sundae: Receive offers within 4 business days

Appraisal and inspection

Mortgage lenders often require an appraisal to determine fair market value before approving a loan. An inspection is a separate process, designed to protect the buyer against unforeseen damages or structural issues. Whether you’ll need a home inspection will be determined by the offer terms.

• Average time: 2–3 hours per appraisal/inspection; a few days or weeks to receive full reports
• Average time with Sundae: Offers come from local investors looking to buy your house as-is, without inspection or appraisal, even if it needs a little (or a lot) of work

Negotiations

If there’s an appraisal or inspection contingency on your offer, the buyer can use it to negotiate repairs or even walk away. You may have to meet their demands before they agree to close.

• Average time: Days to weeks, depending on issues
• Average time with Sundae: As-is buyers rarely ask to renegotiate

Closing

Closing is when your home gets officially signed over to the new owners. You’ll sign the closing documents, receive the proceeds from the sale and hand over the keys. This is also when you’ll settle up real estate agent fees, which can be up to 6% of your home’s sale price.

• Average time: Traditionally 30–45 days (or longer) from accepted offer to close
• Average time with Sundae: As fast as 10 days or up to 60 days

Average time for a house to sell

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the average number of days a U.S. house is currently on the market is 21. That’s up just a bit from the 18-day average in 2021. Yes, the housing market is cooling from its white-hot state last year, but the advantage remains tilted toward sellers.

Keep in mind that real estate is a local game. Stay informed of the market around you to avoid setting unrealistic expectations. Here is the average amount of time that houses in the traditional real estate marketplace stay on the market in various locations around the country*:

* According to Zillow

You’ll then have to factor in time for closing. That can take anywhere from 7 to 10 days for a cash offer, or closer to 50 days with a conventional mortgage. As of October 2022, it takes an average of 51 days to close on a purchase loan according to ICE Mortgage Technology.

How to sell your house faster

If you need to sell your home as quickly as possible, you might consider selling off-market. This means selling without listing on the traditional MLS, instead accepting a cash offer or selling directly to an investor. You may not end up getting top dollar for your property, but when time is of the essence, it can speed up the process considerably.

By working with Sundae, you can close in as little as 10 days or take your time and close within 60 days. All it takes is four easy steps:

1. Tell us about your property
2. We’ll prepare your listing
3. Review offers within days
4. Sell as-is and move at your own pace

If you’re strapped for cash, you may also be eligible for up to a $10,000 cash advance, which can help ease the transition. We do our best to make the process smooth so that everybody feels taken care of.