In the United States, homes sit on the market for an average of 22 days. However, this does not include time spent working through rejected offers, fulfilling requests, and working on closing tasks. These add up to an average of 71 days before your home becomes someone else’s.
These averages range depending on a variety of factors. Selling your home in Atlanta, Georgia is a whole different story than selling your home in Bethesda, Maryland.
If you’re wondering, “how long does it take to sell a house in Bethesda, MD?” keep reading. We’re going to go through the home selling process with you.
How Long Does It Take to Sell a House?
According to Maryland Relators, homes in Maryland sit on the market for a median of six days as of June 2022. This is a significant improvement from the 11-day median Maryland had in 2020.
However, this isn’t the total sale time.
The average sale time for Maryland is 74 days, which is three days quicker than the national average of 77 days. So, if you’re looking to sell your home, you should anticipate a much longer wait than six days.
When to Start the Home Selling Process
Your individual home selling timeline will depend on when you’re looking to start the home selling process and how your home compares to others in the area.
The month with the fastest sale time in Maryland is May, while the slowest month is January.
How to Sell a House Faster
No matter when you’re selling your home, there are a few things you can do to hasten the home selling timeline. Let’s review some of the most popular ways to sell a home quicker.
1. Choose a Competitive Price
Many homeowners become overwhelmed with the idea of selling their homes. They tend to place more value on the home than it’s actually worth. Rather than focusing on the building, they’re focusing on the memories.
Because of this, homeowners may not price their homes in the best way to sell quickly.
This is why we recommend seeking the help of a home pricing professional such as a real estate agent or an appraiser. They can help you come up with the right price for your home as compared to other homes in the area.
Your home is more likely to sell if it’s closer to the price that buyers are looking for.
Plus, a well-priced home is more likely to get buyer attention. So, you may end up getting more for the home if buyers face off in a bidding war.
2. Make Repairs and Improvements
Most buyers are looking to avoid any problems and renovations. They want move-in-ready homes that don’t require more money for investments.
If you want to sell your home, you should keep this in mind. Getting the repairs done before putting the home on the market will make your home more attractive to buyers.
Plus, any renovations you do will go towards increasing the home’s value, meaning that you can get more back for selling the home.
3. Stage Your Home
Staging a home is an art form. There are staging methods that can help sellers bring in more buyers.
Staging a home the right way can make all of the difference when it comes to making a sale. The cost of staging may be up to $2,000 depending on your home, but it may add tens of thousands of dollars to the sale price of your home.
If you’re unsure where to start, your real estate agent can help you stage your home and market it on various social media sites.
What Affects the Home Selling Timeline?
As homeowners post homes for sale, there are a few milestones they should consider. The timing of these milestones determines the overall home selling timeline.
1. Listing and Showing the House
The listing time is the amount of time that most homeowners think about when they consider selling. The average home in Bethesda, MD sits on the market for six days (as we mentioned earlier), but this isn’t the only thing to consider.
The time on the market online tells you how long it takes to get an offer from someone who’s looking to buy.
2. Accepting an Offer
Once you get an offer, you should take one to three days to consider and respond to that offer. You may get multiple offers that you need to process.
While this doesn’t add a lot of time to the home selling process, it is an important step. The offer you accept determines the amount you’ll make from the sale as well as the number of repairs you’ll need to do before the new owners move in.
3. Inspecting the House
The home inspection takes between five to ten days to complete depending on the agreement between the buyer and the seller. From there, the inspector may take a day or two to write up their report.
4. Countering and Negotiating
In response to the findings from the inspection, the buyer may have some requests. You may have an old air conditioning unit or a leaky pipe.
Depending on the buyer, they may want you to fix the problem before they move in.
The renegotiation process may take a day or two, but the repairs could take weeks depending on what the buyer requests and what you’re willing to do as the seller.
5. Closing
After the lender, title company, and government receive and complete all the necessary paperwork, it’s time for closing. The buyer and seller will agree upon the exact date in their contract, but it usually falls about a month or two after the initial contact.
Selling My Home in Bethesda, MD
So, how long does it take to sell a house? Well, the time varies widely depending on how you hit each milestone along the way.
There are some things you can do to make the selling process quicker. If you’re looking for a real estate agent who’s going to help you sell your home quickly at its maximum value, sell with Brett McCurdy.