What Is the Average Time to Sell a House?

The average time it takes to sell a house is around 43 days, but that number can vary widely depending on pricing, location, market conditions, and home condition.

Some homes sell in days, while others sit on the market for months. If you’re planning to sell, understanding how long the process typically takes and what factors can speed it up or slow it down can help you set realistic expectations and choose the right selling strategy.

How Long Does It Really Take to Sell a House?

Selling a home involves more than just listing it and waiting for an offer. While timelines vary by market, price, and property condition, most home sales follow a predictable sequence of steps.

In general, the average time to sell a house—about 43 days—does not include the time spent preparing the home before it’s listed. To better understand what that timeline means for your situation, it helps to break the process down and look at a key metric called Days on Market.

What Is Days on Market (DOM)?

Days on Market (DOM) measures how long a home sits on the multiple listing service (MLS) before a seller accepts an offer. In simple terms, it reflects how quickly buyers are responding to your listing.

DOM matters because:

• Homes that sit longer often receive lower offers
• Buyers may assume the home is overpriced or has issues
• Listings with high DOM can lose negotiating leverage

How Many Days on Market Is Too Many?

There’s no universal cutoff, but a helpful benchmark is your local average Days on Market.

If your home’s DOM exceeds the average for similar homes in your area, it may signal that pricing, condition, or market demand needs to be reassessed. Average DOM is typically calculated by reviewing recent sales over the past one to six months and measuring how long those homes took to go under contract.

What Does Selling a House Entail?

Generally speaking, the average time it takes to sell a home, from deciding to put it on the market to handing the keys to the new owner, is around six to nine months. This includes the time you spend preparing your house for sale: cleaning, repainting, repairing, staging, etc. Then there’s also the task of selecting a real estate agent and getting your property listed.

The prep work involved in selling your home can easily add another three to six months to this timeframe—especially if your house is large or it needs significant repairs or renovations. Overall, you’re looking at an average of six to 12 months for the whole process.

Let’s take a look at each phase of the home-selling process in more detail below.

Listing Your Property

Once you’ve decided to sell, chosen your realtor, and brought your property up to optimal condition, you’ll need to get it listed. This is typically done on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) or a real estate platform. There, your listing will remain until an interested buyer comes along and makes an offer. The average time for this process is generally one to two months.

Offer and Acceptance

Once you’ve found an interested buyer, they will submit a formal offer to purchase your property. You’ll then be given up to 72 hours to either accept or reject their offer. The length of time allotted for this varies from state to state.

Appraisal and Inspection

After you have accepted a buyer’s offer, the next step is having the property appraised and inspected. The appraisal is typically performed by the buyer’s mortgage lender to determine fair market value. This is done to prevent a buyer from paying more than what the home is actually worth. 

The buyer must also arrange a formal inspection of the property. Buyers are given up to 10 days to complete this phase. The inspection itself usually takes less than a day, depending on the size of the property, plus a day or two for the formal report to come out.

Counteroffer (Optional)

Based on the findings of the inspection report, the buyer will then have the option to submit a counteroffer. Maybe the inspector noticed some structural damage or additional issues not previously disclosed. 

Whatever the concern, the buyer will either ask for a lower price or request that certain repairs or renovations be made. This back-and-forth negotiation process can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to resolve.

Closing

Finally, once you and the buyer have agreed on the price, the deal then enters its final phase: the closing. This process takes roughly 30 days, giving both the buyer and seller enough time to fulfill the agreed-upon requirements. Typically, both parties will enlist the services of a closing attorney and an escrow service to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Factors That Affect the Time on the Market

How long does it take to sell a house? The short but not-so-clear-cut answer is: it depends. Although the average time to sell a house varies from market to market, you can always expect it to be a time-consuming experience.

If you’re looking to speed up the process, want to know what it takes to get your house ready to sell, or just want to set appropriate expectations, here are a few factors that impact a property’s DOM.

Asking Price

The asking price has the most significant impact on how long your property spends on the market. Fortunately, it’s also one of the few factors over which you have complete control.

The price of your property is directly proportional to how fast and easy it is to sell. Generally speaking, the lower the asking price, the quicker it will sell, and the less time it will spend on the market. High-priced homes are less accessible to most buyers, and as a result, tend to spend more time on the market.

Of course, lowering the price isn’t always ideal, as it means less profit for you. Additionally, an excessively low price could actually have a negative impact on buyers, as they may get the impression that there’s something wrong with the home.

Location (Average Time to Sell a House by Zip Code)

In addition to pricing, the location of your property is the next big factor when it comes to selling your home. Generally speaking, a more desirable location, such as one near schools or in a particularly safe or affluent neighborhood, will make the property more attractive to buyers. Therefore, it will spend less time idling on the market.

The average time to sell a house by zip code plays a role. Some cities and zip codes boast statistically better housing markets than others, and as a result, homes for sale in those locations will typically sell faster.

As an example, a property in a big city like San Francisco (94103) will typically sell within an average of 22 days. Compare this to homes for sale listed in Naples (34108), Florida, which take an average of 79 days—more than three times as long!

Home Condition

The general appearance of your property also plays a role in determining how easy it will be to sell. Houses that have a gorgeous patio, a well-manicured lawn, or a bright white fence, for example, may be more attractive to buyers. In other words, the nicer your property looks, the greater your chances will be of getting a quick offer.

Current Market Climate

The term “market climate” represents how “hot” the housing market is in a particular area at a given time. The two main market categories in real estate are as follows:

• Seller’s Market: In a seller’s market, the demand for homes exceeds the supply of properties for sale on the market. 
• Buyer’s Market: In a buyer’s market, there are more homes for sale on the market than there is a demand for properties.

As a seller, you can either be in a “cold” buyer’s market or a “warm” seller’s market, and, between the two, you want to be in the latter.

Simply put, a seller’s market will have more buyers than sellers. That means more eyeballs on your property, which means a better chance of getting a competitive offer, and a faster selling cycle as a result. 

If the market is ideal for sellers at the time you list your home for sale, you may even experience a bidding war where multiple buyers make offers on your house. Obviously, this is a great situation to be in as a seller, since it puts you in control over how much you ultimately make on the sale of your property.

When is the Best Time to Sell My Home?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The best time for one seller may not be ideal for another. While some real estate professionals feel there are certain times of year that are better for home sales, determining whether it’s the right time for you to sell will depend on your unique needs and your specific situation.

There are also many factors to consider when deciding if it’s the best time to sell your house. For instance, while some “experts” indicate that spring is the ideal time, that may mean either waiting too long when you need to sell your home quickly, or selling in a market that will ultimately be more competitive than it is right now.

Quick Tips to Sell Your House Fast

While some factors, such as location and market climate, are out of your control, there are certain things you can do to improve your chances of achieving a quick sale. 

In some cases, under the right circumstances and with the right strategy, you could even sell your house in 7 days. It’s all about the approach you choose to take and how well you plan and prepare.

To sell your property as quickly as possible, here’s what we recommend.

Price Competitively

Pricing your property right is an effective way to lower your average time to sell. A lower price doesn’t always mean a better outcome in real estate. If a home is priced too low, it can be viewed as a “problem” house.

To determine the optimal price point for your home, consider the following:

• What the current market is from a seller’s perspective (“warm” for sellers means you may be able to price your home higher and still get timely offers)
• How much similar homes in your area have sold for recently
• The current condition of your home (a newly renovated property may be more attractive, and therefore warrant a higher listing price)

Pricing too high can cause a home to sit, while pricing too low may raise concerns for buyers or reduce your return.

Clean, Declutter, and Stage Strategically

One quick, easy, and affordable way to improve the condition of your home (and therefore make it more attractive to buyers) is to declutter it. Buyers love it when they can envision themselves living in your house, and they can’t do that if it’s full of furniture and personal knick-knacks. Get rid of excess furniture and clear the walls of your family portraits. 

Staging can also make a difference. Some real estate agents report that staging reduced time on the market, with 30% seeing modest improvements and 19% noting a significant decrease in selling time. Even simple staging with neutral décor and minimal furnishings can help your listing stand out online and during showings.

Make Basic Updates

If you’re looking to sell your house fast, chances are you’re not interested in investing a lot of time or money into pricey renovations. There are still some small updates you can make that won’t require a ton of effort, but help you improve your profitability.

For instance, a quick power-wash or a fresh coat of paint can make a big difference to the look and feel of your home.

On the other hand, don’t go overboard. There are many home remodels that don’t add as much value as you may think, such as converting bedrooms into closets or removing all the bathtubs with standing showers. 

Maximize Curb Appeal

Buyers aren’t only interested in the appearance of the home itself, but also of the property it’s located on. According to the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), a well-landscaped yard can increase the value of a home by 15 to 20 percent at the time of resale. If you can’t afford a major overhaul of your yard, just focus on making things look tidy and clean.

Time the Market

The best time to sell is in a seller’s market, where you’ll see much faster turnaround times and overall better profits. If possible, consider holding off until the market is in your favor. Of course, if you need a fast turnaround and can’t afford to wait, there are other options. For instance, you could sell your house fast with the right investor.

Consider Faster Selling Alternatives

If time is critical, alternatives to a traditional listing may be worth exploring.

Cash buyers, like House Buyers of America, can make offers quickly and often purchase homes As-Is, eliminating repairs, showings, and financing delays. While these sales move faster, they may not deliver the highest possible price.

If waiting for the right market conditions isn’t an option, choosing a faster-selling approach can help you move forward with greater certainty and less stress.

FAQs About How Long It Takes To Sell A House

These are some of the most common questions homeowners ask when trying to understand how long it really takes to sell a house, and what might slow the process down.

How Long Is Too Long On The Market For A House?

There’s no universal cutoff, but a home is generally considered “on the market too long” if it exceeds the average Days on Market (DOM) for similar homes in the same area. Once a listing goes well beyond the local average, buyers may assume it’s overpriced or has unresolved issues, which can lead to fewer showings and lower offers.

Is Four Months A Long Time for a House to be on the Market?

In many markets, yes, it can be. If comparable homes are selling in 30–60 days, a four-month timeline can signal that something isn’t working: often pricing, condition, or market demand.

In slower or rural markets, four months may be more typical, which is why local context matters.

What Are The Biggest Mistakes People Make When Selling Their Home?

The most common mistakes include overpricing the home, underestimating needed repairs, ignoring curb appeal, and waiting too long to adjust strategy when the home isn’t getting traction. Delaying price changes or relying solely on market timing can significantly extend the selling process.

What Devalues a House The Most?

Deferred maintenance, outdated interiors, poor curb appeal, and location-related issues tend to have the biggest impact on value. Homes that show signs of neglect or require major repairs often sit longer on the market or sell for less than expected.

Is Selling To A Cash Buyer Right For Me?

Selling to a cash buyer can make sense if speed, certainty, or convenience matter more than maximizing price. Cash sales typically avoid inspections, appraisals, and financing delays, which can shorten the timeline dramatically. However, cash offers may be lower than market value, so it’s best suited for sellers who prioritize a fast, predictable closing.