Selling a house in today’s market is about price and exposure – not to mention patience. Usually, it takes an average of eight showings to get a single bid on a house. You may show it repeatedly to people who may not buy it. But what if you need to sell faster, like two weeks? Can you do that?
The answer is yes – selling a house in just two weeks or even less is possible. Some can have their house sold in as fast as five days! But while it’s possible, it’s important to note that this timeline is quite challenging and requires significant effort and resources. In this article, learn about how you can sell your house real quick:
Factors that Affect How Fast You Sell a House
As you probably already know, selling a house is more challenging than selling your other belongings. It takes more time, more requirements, and more things to prepare. Here are some factors that can affect your ability to sell a house within such a tight timeline:
- Market conditions – The housing market can fluctuate, and it may not be favorable for a quick sale in certain areas or during certain times of the year. You may not always attract anyone looking for a home because sometimes, there aren’t any.
- Pricing – Pricing your home correctly is key to a quick sale. If you price too high, you may not receive any offers, while pricing too low can lead to leaving money on the table.
- Marketing – You’ll need to market your home aggressively to reach potential buyers in a short amount of time. This includes listing on multiple online platforms, using professional photography, and potentially even hosting open houses.
- Home condition – If your home needs significant repairs or updates, it may not be ready for a quick sale. It has to be attractive and desirable to get potential buyers, and eventually, you can get an offer.
- Buyer financing – Even if you find a buyer quickly, it’s possible that the financing process could take longer than two weeks. If you want to sell quickly, look for cash buyers.
Tips on How to Sell Your House Quickly
If you need help selling your house quickly, here are some tips you should follow for you to get that quick sale you wanted.
Look for cash home buyers
Selling your house to a cash buyer through cash home-buying companies, local investors, or iBuyer can reduce the time it takes to get an offer to close the sale. Cash home buyers make offers within 24 hours after the inspection, and it can close in as fast as a week or so. It’s much quicker compared to receiving and accepting an offer on the open market, as it doesn’t include the typical 30-60-day closing period. Some iBuying companies can also close in as fast as eight days to as long as 90 days.
If you choose cash home buyers, you don’t need to list your home for sale. It eliminates the listing process like home staging, cleaning, or pre-listing. And you also don’t have to worry about many strangers touring the home for showings. Paying with cash also eliminates the need for contingency financing. Contracts also don’t depend on your home appraising for its sale price.
So, if you want to sell fast, start by finding and contacting companies that buy houses for cash. Some can give offers within just minutes and close the sale as quickly as a week after checking out your property.
Price your house competitively
The price of the house is obviously critical. When it’s too high, people will surely shy away. To make sure that it sells fast, price your house below fair market value – it’s a surefire way to get more potential buyers interested in your listing. Price the house at five percent less than the last sale in your neighborhood.
To ensure your house is priced below typical neighborhood values, research the recent sales in your area. Websites like Zillow offer prices for many addresses in the United States, so plug in the address of the recently sold homes, and you’ll get an idea about their selling price.
Lowering your asking price can help you get more online views and showings and attract more first-time home buyers on a budget and local real estate investors looking for an all-cash offer.
Also, home buyers who intend to get a mortgage are less likely to experience appraisal issues if the house is priced below its market value. Contracts tend to get delayed due to appraisal issues.
The best thing you can do is to work with a real estate agent to come up with a fair asking price that will attract buyers without undervaluing the house.
Hire a top-performing agent
Selling your house on an open market makes sense if you have more time to sell. A realtor can get you an offer as soon as possible, but the closing process typically adds another 30-45 days to your sale timeline.
Looking for cash buyers or iBuyers is also not a guarantee to fast sales, but hiring a trusted realtor to list your home opens up the possibility of a bidding war, allowing you to get above-listing price offers.
Consider hiring a real estate agent who has a proven track record of selling homes quickly. If you don’t know where to start looking for one, try agent matching services that make it a bit easier to find a quality, local real estate agents who can do that. Ask them how long it takes for them to sell a house in your market. Check their portfolio and their active and past listings on platforms like Zillow to see how much traffic their listings receive. Read past client reviews to see if you will like them.
Once you have found an agent you’re comfortable with, sign a listing agreement with them to start your home sale process.
Offer incentives
Potential buyers are more likely to push through and make an offer if you sweeten the deal. Offering incentives can make your home more attractive to buyers. Here are some incentive ideas that increase the chances of selling faster:
1. Let them keep some of your stuff
Leaving some appliances (stove, oven, refrigerator, mounted television, ceiling fan, etc.), furniture (dining table and chairs, couch, armoires, etc.), and other hard-to-move items can add to your home’s appeal. It can also save you time and money to move these items after closing the deal.
2. Offer to pay the buyer’s closing costs
Home buying costs are rising due to increasing home prices and mortgage rates. Offering to cover the buyer’s closing costs can save them thousands of dollars upfront while you attract more potential buyers on a budget willing to buy right away.
3. Pay the HOA fees
Some homeowners associations require a full year of HOA or condo fees paid before closing. If you offer to cover that cost, it could attract more potential home buyers as this could save them hundreds or thousands.
4. Offer a repair credit
If the house needs serious repairs, selling it with a flat repair credit can save you and the buyer a lot of time and stress when negotiating post-inspection repairs. Alternatively, you may opt to pay a home warranty for a year.
5. Prepay taxes
Another great incentive would be to prepay the house taxes for up to two years to make your home listing more attractive.
Market your home aggressively
If you want to sell fast, you must make every effort to market the house. Here’s what you can do to market the house aggressively:
Use multiple online platforms for marketing your home, including social media, online listing websites, and classifieds.
Use professional photography and virtual tours. High-quality photos and virtual tours can help showcase your home in its best light and attract more buyers.
Add a floor plan to your listing. This can cut your house’s time on the market by up to 50%. Floor plans can help the buyers get a better idea about your home’s layout and room sizes. Seeing a floor plan with the home listing also makes the house more appealing to potential buyers.
Be flexible with showing times. Buyers may want to view your home at unconventional times, and you must be available.
Make the house appealing to buyers
When selling a house, you want to get the best possible price in the shortest amount of time, and you can do this by making your home as appealing as possible. Here’s how you can do this:
1. Declutter
The interior of the house must be clean and free from clutter. Organize all your stuff, or consider putting your belongings in the attic, garage, or storage. This also means decluttering every room and deep cleaning areas like the kitchen and bathrooms. Cleaning out your house makes it easier to host buyer showings and home inspections and can also make it faster for you to move out after the sale is closed.
2. Increase curb appeal
Make sure the home exterior is well-maintained. Ensure that the lawn is green and manicured, the trees and shrubs are trimmed, and the sidings are power washed. You may also improve the landscape. These adjustments can help increase your ROI.
3. Stage your home for sale
Make your home look as attractive as possible to potential buyers. Declutter, clean, and arrange furniture to make your home look more spacious.
4. Consider cosmetic updates
You may not need to do this, but you may have to paint the walls, update the lights or install new flooring to make your house look more attractive.
5. Host open houses
Hosting open houses can help attract potential buyers who may have yet to see your home online or through traditional marketing channels.
Conclusion
A house sale can go through in two weeks (or even less) if both parties are motivated, and the deal is reasonable. While it’s possible to close a deal quickly, it’s important to make sure that you’re not rushing into anything and that you’re getting a fair price for the house.