How long does it take to sell a house?

According to May 2025 data from the National Association of REALTORS^® (NAR), the average time it takes to sell a home was 86 days. This includes 51 days listed and 35 days to close. However, optional preparation can tack on more time. Plus, results can vary based on variables such as the local market, price, property type, condition, and buyer financing.

By getting your head around the different factors that can impact how long it takes you to find that perfect buyer and close the deal, you can enjoy smoother sailing with the home buying process. Let’s look at the home-selling timeline.

Key takeaways:

• On average, selling your house takes 86 days, which doesn’t include preparation before listing.
• The key stages for selling your home run from prepping it to accepting an offer and completing contingencies.
• There are tactics for speeding up the home sale, such as working with a real estate agent and performing a pre-listing inspection.

How long does it take to sell a house?

The timeline for selling your home, per NAR data, is an average of 86 days, which includes 51 days listed and 35 days to close. However, what’s not included is pre-listing work such as preparation. Pre-listing work can add time to the sale of a home. In some cases, it can take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks to prepare the property to put up on the market.

Home-selling timeline from prep to closing

Here, we’ll walk you through the different stages of the full selling timeline, from prep to closing:

Prepare your home before listing

Preparing your house before it officially reaches the market can mean additional time. You’ll want to do your due diligence and make sure your home is as presentable and attractive to potential buyers as possible.

The staging process involves investing time to clean every room, including windows, blinds, and carpets. Go through your belongings and thoroughly declutter. To make sure your home looks inviting and ready for professional photos, add bits of flair and decor in different spaces. You can boost online curb appeal by sprucing up the landscaping or adding a fresh coat of paint.

Pricing preparation, so you can get a good grasp on your home value estimation, involves a multi-pronged approach. To land an estimate of your home’s fair market value, you can use online valuation tools, run a comparative market analysis, and get a professional appraisal.

List, show, and wait for offers

Now it’s time to launch your home listing on the market, and schedule showings and open houses.  When offers start rolling in, as the seller, you can accept the offer as is, negotiate with the buyer, or reject the offer and move on.

Local demand can impact how flexible you need to be in scheduling showings. When there’s greater demand, you can expect to have fewer showings and less scheduling flexibility. On the flip side, lower demand might require more open houses and greater flexibility in showing your property. 

Accurate pricing can also significantly affect this stage. When the property’s price matches its true market value, it can mean greater attention to the listing and multiple competing offers. It also can shift leverage to the seller during the negotiation process.

Accept an offer and complete contingencies

Once an offer is accepted, it takes, on average, 30 to 60 days to close. However, different steps during this stage can change or delay the timeline:

• Inspection: Should there be any issues that pop up during the inspection, there is a period when you can negotiate for price reductions or repair requests through an inspection contingency. This can drag out the time it takes to close.
• Counteroffers: If there are counteroffers, which change the conditions of what the buyer originally offered, such as the purchase price, contingencies, or earnest money deposit, there can be some back-and-forth.
• Title work: During the title search, should the title company find unresolved encumbrances, ownership claims, unpaid taxes, or liens on the property, this can cause delays.
• Buyer financing: When it comes to the closing timeline, a cash sale drops the average time to close on a house to 7 to 14 days. Government-backed loans, such as FHA, VA, and USDA loans, can stretch out that timeframe.

Close and move out

The last stage in the home-selling process is closing day, which is an appointment that includes signing documents, such as the promissory note, deed of trust, and escrow disclosure.

On closing day, you’ll also pay agent commissions, transfer taxes, and the payoff of the existing mortgage. Usually, you’ll need to be moved completely out of the home by closing day, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

What affects the speed of a home sale?

How long a house stays on the market before it’s sold can depend on a handful of factors. Let’s take a closer look at what can make the timeline shorter or longer:

Local market and seasonality

In a seller’s market, you’ll see more competition among prospective home buyers, which can lead to fewer days on the market, more bids, and even higher offers than the asking price. In a buyer’s market, where inventory exceeds demand, you might see your home stay on

 the market longer, receive fewer offers, and see prices dip.

Local housing market indicators matter more than national averages because local real estate is often different from national market trends. Fall and winter are typically the hardest times to sell. The best time to sell may be in the spring for people with young children who are school.

Days on market and asking price

Days on market (DOM) is the number of days a property is listed before the purchase contract is signed. Should a home be overpriced, adjustments might need to be made to the price so that the house moves more quickly.

Days on market stigma does indeed exist. The longer your home sits on the market, the less desirable it seems, and potential buyers might wonder what’s wrong with it. However, if you underprice the home, it could reduce the seller’s return.

Property type, price range, and home condition

Condos and townhouses typically move slower in the market and attract lower demand than single-family homes. According to the NAR September 2026 Existing-Home Sales report, single-family homes sold at a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.64 million, whereas condos and co-ops sold at the seasonally adjusted rate of 350,000 units.

As you might expect, a home that’s move-in ready with up-to-date features usually moves more quickly on the market than one that’s outdated and in need of repairs.

Plus, lenders require homes to meet property standards before extending financing. FHA loans will have different minimum property standards than conventional loans. So should a home require significant repairs to meet these property standards, it can also delay financing.

Marketing and listing exposure

Putting more resources into attracting prospective buyers to your listing can impact the speed of a sale. This includes taking professional photos and boosting the online curb appeal so that your home makes a great impression before they set foot inside. Plus, holding virtual tours, listing on multiple sites, and promoting it on social media can boost its online presence and get more eyeballs to your listing.

Buyer financing and type of sale

A cash sale can usually close in 1 to 2 weeks, whereas a buyer going through a traditional mortgage financing route can take up to 2 months.

How to estimate your local home-selling timeline

A home’s selling timeline often depends on the local market.

Check local days on market

Because real estate is hyper-local, average days on the market can establish a benchmark for the time from listing to offer. You can also review comparable nearby sales to gauge pricing, demand, and how long your home may be on the market.

Factor in price range, property type, and location

Even within the same broader market, timing can differ by city and even the ZIP code. Properties in highly desired areas with greater demand can mean a shorter timeline to sell. As mentioned, condos and townhouses tend to move slower than single-family homes, as do more expensive listings.

Ways to sell your house faster

Selling your home can be an overwhelming and time-consuming process, and it’s a good idea to take your time. That said, while there’s never any guarantee of a fast sale, if you’d like to sell your home quicker, there are some things you can try to speed up the home selling process.

Price the home for the local market

A common mistake you can make is listing your home for more than its fair market value in the local market. Overpricing your home likely means you’ll be forced to drop the price over time, and it will linger longer on the market than you’d like.

Instead, look closely at what comparable homes sold recently for in the same area. That way, you can come up with a fair listing price.

Work with the right real estate agent

While it might be tempting to go the DIY route, a seasoned agent can speed up your sale. They can guide you every step of the way, and help you prepare your listing, come up with a fair listing price, navigate the negotiation process, and facilitate the closing process.

To pick a real estate agent to sell your house, you’ll want to look for a professional with a strong track record, deep knowledge of the local market, and a communication style that syncs with yours. Plus, it’s important to know your agent’s compensation expectations to make sure it’s a good fit.

Prepare and market the home effectively

Another way to speed up the home-selling timeline is to make low-cost upgrades such as replacing worn-out faucets and swapping out cabinet hardware.

Any efforts to attract would-be buyers such as staging, boosting curb appeal, and taking professional photos can also help sell your home faster. Plus, the more flexible you are in scheduling showings, the more likely you are to show it to more folks and land offers.

Make any necessary minor repairs. This might mean safety or structural fixes, such as fixing plumbing leaks. However, you’ll probably want to skip major remodels. That’s because they can be a significant investment and rarely recoup the costs.

Consider a pre-listing inspection

While it doesn’t eliminate every possible delay, investing in a pre-listing inspection before putting your home on the market may mean fewer surprises during buyer negotiations.

During a pre-listing inspection, a licensed home inspector does a thorough walk-through of your home to pinpoint any potential issues or repairs that might be problematic for the buyer. While it is an added cost and step, with a standard pre-listing inspection hovering between $296 and $424, it could be worthwhile.

Reassess if your home is not selling

Should the offers on your home be few and far between, review the price. A price tag that doesn’t accurately reflect the fair market value on a home can lead to a stalled listing. Also, if the condition of the home isn’t up to par with comparable homes, it could equate to fewer offers.

You can review showing feedback to glean insights, and see what can be improved with marketing and listing presentation efforts. A lackluster listing could prevent a home from getting attention.

FAQ

Questions on the timeline for selling a house? Here are some answers. 

What is the hardest time to sell a house?

Typically, late fall and winter are the hardest times to sell a house, and April through June are the easiest times to sell a house. The slowest months to sell a house are December through February. 

How much would a real estate agent make on a $300,000 house?

The commission real estate agents make is normally between 5% and 6% of the purchase price of the house. This is split between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent, with each getting 2.5% to 3%. So on a $300,000 house, the total commission is $15,000 to $18,000, and each agent’s share is $7,500 to $9,000.

What is the longest a house sale can take?

There’s no set-in-stone maximum on the longest a house sale can take. However, a buyer’s market where there’s weak demand, overpricing, needed repairs, appraisal or title issues, and snags in financing can draw out an extended sale. 

How quickly do most houses sell?

The average time it takes to sell a home is 86 days, which includes 51 days listed and 35 days to close. This doesn’t include the time to prepare a home for listing.

Can you sell a house in 30 days?

It usually takes at least 30 days to sell a home. While it’s possible in some markets or with certain cash buyers, a financed buyer’s closing process often requires additional time.

What are the days on the market in real estate?

Days on market (DOM) in real estate is the number of days a home is listed before going under contract. A longer DOM means the seller might want to revisit their listing and make improvements.

How fast is a cash sale?

A cash buyer may close faster than a financed buyer because it can skip the appraisal and mortgage approval process. A cash sale can close in as fast as 7 to 14 days. 

The bottom line: Don’t rush the home sale process

As a seller, you can’t control every factor that goes into the home-selling timeline. That said, you can boost your chances of an efficient sale by pricing accurately, preparing the property, marketing it effectively, evaluating local conditions, and planning for closing and your next move.

Being proactive and understanding the variables that impact the sale of a home can ease the process and make for a more enjoyable endeavor. Once you’re ready to sell your home and start looking for a new one, you can get started on your mortgage application with Rocket Mortgage.