You’ve decided to move out of your Sacramento home. Should you start looking for your new abode now, or wait until you’ve got some nibbles on your current property? And how long does it take to sell a house, anyway? While the amount of time your home sits on the market depends on a lot of variables (time of year, condition of your home, area comps), there are some general rules of thumb to keep in mind.
Let’s talk about how long it typically takes to sell a home, what you can do to expedite the process, and an alternative to traditional home sales that could have you closing in just one week.
Average Time to Sell a House
According to Zillow, US homes spent an average of 65-93 days on the market in 2018. That’s up to three months of open houses, showings, and negotiations before landing an offer. And, after that, dealing with the escrow period before you can finally close and move out. While a three to four month wait isn’t exactly an eternity — it could feel like it is if you need to get out of your Sacramento home in a hurry. If you are trying to sell a home that has some significant problems, you may not even be able to sell it within this average window.
Selling Your House Faster
OK, so you want to get out within a few months. What can you do to sell your Sacramento home fast? Realtor.com offers some tips for unloading your property to a new owner sooner than later. We agree. If you want to sell your home faster:
- Time it right. Home sell faster in the summer months. This is when families are in a hurry to get settled in before the new school year starts. If are struggling to sell during winter, putting the sale on ice for a few months might make a big difference.
- Make repairs. Now, you may be selling your home in the first place because you don’t want to deal with some expensive and overwhelming repairs. But simple jobs like putting in a new dishwasher or replacing a dripping faucet could be enough to win over a buyer without putting you in the red.
- Stage the property. Homes that have been staged to remove clutter and arrange the furniture in an aesthetically pleasing way sell much faster (and for more money) on average than un-staged properties. Put away your picture frames and glass figurines, and place your furniture in an open and welcoming arrangement.
- Price competitively. You might want to recoup the full equity you thought you had in your home. But if an assessment reveals it’s not worth as much as you thought, you need to adjust your expectations. Overpricing will likely add months to the sale of your home… and you’ll probably have to drop the price, anyway. Be smart about your asking price if you want to move the home quickly.
What is the Fastest Way to Sell a Sacramento House?
If you want to sell your home well under the average 60-90 day window, you can look into working with an investor. Companies like California Family Homebuyers know how to work quickly. Since we aren’t working with a lender, there won’t be any contingencies to hold the sale up and there is no escrow period. In fact, we can often close within one week. No, really. And we even let you choose the closing date. If you are approaching foreclosure, need to move out of state, or just don’t want to deal with the typical sale process — working with California Family Homebuyers may be the right choice.
Contact us today to see if we can help you move fast! Call us at 916-496-3737 and let’s talk about selling your Sacramento home faster than average.