How Long Does it Take to Sell a House?

When listing a home for sale, the owner’s needs and timeline have a lot to do with how long it may take to sell a house.  It’s no a secret that overpriced homes take longer to sell.  In fact, many times overpriced homes will end up selling for LESS than fair market value.  After it’s been on the market for a long time, home buyers tend to avoid the listing thinking “something is wrong with it”.

Here in Phoenix, the average days on market in November 2016  was 54 days.  Unfortunately it’s hard to use this number as a baseline for any given property.  Within the market, certain neighborhoods and price ranges sell much quicker than others.  For some properties, it’s reasonable to expect offers within a few days, and for other properties, it’s perfectly normal to wait several months before you see much activity.

What makes a house sell quickly?

Often times there is no logical reason for the certain time it takes to sell a house.  Being in the “right time and the right place” is sometimes all that it takes.. You never know what buyers might be in the market, and how quickly they are looking to pull the trigger on a purchase.  However, for the majority of sellers there are a few factors that will determine how quickly your house will sell.

Price

A smart pricing strategy is key to getting attention and attracting the right buyers.  A smart pricing strategy doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a super low price, or an inflated price.  Since each property is different, it’s a price that will effectively bring in the most amount of qualified buyers in order to sell the property quickly for top dollar. By analyzing previous comparable sales and using past market data, an experienced agent knows what the smart price is to list your property.

Location

You’ve heard it before and here it is again, Location, Location, Location! A bad home in a good location will usually sell faster than a good home in a bad location.  Remember you can always change the house, but you can’t change the location. Houses in good locations usually means you pay a premium, and they sell quickly.  You wanted to be in this location when you bought the house, so there’s a good chance someone else wants to be in the same location for the same reason.

 

Condition

Squeaky clean and upgraded homes sell much faster than homes that are dirty, in need of repair, or outdated.  Consider investing a little time and effort into your home before getting it on the market. Cleaning, de-cluttering, and a little staging will go a long way in a quick sale of your home.

Market Conditions

Is it a buyer’s market or a seller’s market? Right now, under $200k properties is a seller’s market.  This means you can expect a shorter than average days on market. Above $500,000 is a buyer’s market and you’ll experience a longer than average days on market in most situations.  Buyers and Sellers markets are simply determined by supply and demand.  With low supply in the entry level housing market, demand is up.  Meanwhile, the inventory of luxury homes is high causing lower demand and a buyers’ market.

Your Agent

Some homes are just in the absolute perfect location, priced well, and are move in ready.  There is so much demand, the agent barely has a chance to list a home before the offers come in by the truckload. Despite hearing about these stories, this is NOT the norm.  The other 98% of homes are going to require more effort to attract the attention of buyers.  After all, there are around 20,000 ACTIVE listings in the Phoenix area at any given time you are competing with.

An experienced agent knows an exhaustive listing and marketing plan is key to getting a property sold.  If your listing is not marketed properly, it can easily get drowned in a sea of competing properties that show better than yours.  A digital online marketing campaign can do wonders to keep buyers engaged and interested in your property. Remember, 95% of home buyers are shopping online these days and if it doesn’t stick out to them, you just may be waiting a little while longer than you hoped to sell your house!

Thinking About Selling?