How to Sell Your House Fast in 9 Steps

Selling your home fast requires the right strategy. According to the most recent Homes.com data, it takes an average of 59 days to close after listing a home for sale. But if you’re looking for a quick sale there are steps you can take to expedite the process. 

You’ll want to price your home competitively, maximize its curb appeal and stage it to highlight the property’s best features. You’ll also need an agent who understands the best ways to market your home to potential buyers. 

In this guide, we’ll outline eight steps to help you achieve a speedy sale while still getting top dollar. 

Pricing your home correctly is the most important step to get your home off the market and sold fast. 

“People tend to overprice their homes in the beginning because they are attached to it, and they’re sentimental, or they’ve made a few repairs, but an overpriced home will stay on the market way longer,” says Jennifer McDonnell, a real estate agent with Realty Experts Associates in Dunedin, Florida. 

Here are a few key strategies to keep you from underpricing or overpricing your home:

• Know your home’s value: A Home Valuation Report provides detailed pricing insights on your home and what similar properties in your area have sold for. 
• Consult your agent: Your agent can review homes in the multiple listing service and perform a comparative market analysis to help you set the best price.
• Get an appraisal before you list: If the buyer plans to finance, their lender will require a home appraisal before it issues a loan. A pre-listing appraisal can help ensure that your sale won’t be delayed due to an appraisal gap, where the house is valued at less than the agreed-upon sale price.

First impressions matter. Most home searches start online, so your home needs to stand out. Sprucing up the exterior is one way to do that. According to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) report, 92% of real estate agents recommend improving curb appeal before listing a home. 

Sellers can expect to fully recover the cost of certain outdoor remodeling projects when it's time to sell. NAR reports that maintaining or upgrading your landscaping can deliver a 100% return on investment, while a standard lawn care service can deliver a 217% cost recovery when it’s time to sell.  If you want to boost your home’s curb appeal, here are some low-cost improvements that can make a big impact:

• Planting flowers, shaping hedges and adding fresh mulch.
• Repainting the front door.
• Replacing outdated fixtures such as the mailbox or house number.
• Power washing paved surfaces and your home’s exterior.  

Staging your home helps maximize appeal by highlighting the best features of your floor plan and minimizing potential flaws. This allows potential buyers to visualize themselves in the space. 

“I wouldn’t recommend staging for every price point, but it helps and certainly speeds up the process,” says Remy Cook, a real estate agent with Corcoran Centric Realty in Greenwich, Connecticut. “If a house is a bit more cluttered or tired looking, staging makes an enormous difference. People can come in and envision a cleaner look and what they’d do with the house.” 

According to NAR, 81% of buyer’s agents in 2023 said staging helped buyers picture themselves living in a new home. Whether you go the DIY route or hire professionals, here are some basics to create that ‘WOW’ factor:

• Declutter: 96% of Realtors recommend decluttering your home during the staging process. Remove excess furniture, exercise equipment, children’s toys and pet crates. Organize your closets to highlight the available storage.  
• Deep clean: 88% of agents recommend cleaning the whole home. Have the carpets, floors, baseboards, bathrooms and appliances cleaned.
• Repair: 72% of agents recommend small repairs. Make small upgrades to the bathrooms and kitchen, replace doorknobs and light fixtures and repair wall cracks.
• Depersonalize: 65% of agents stress the importance of depersonalizing your space. Clear out family photos and mementos. Decorate with neutral colors like white or beige linen.
• Paint: Among the agents surveyed, 58% recommend paint touch-ups, and 57% suggest repainting interior walls. Touch up the paint throughout so that your walls look their best. If you’ve chosen bold colors for certain rooms, consider repainting them in a light, neutral tone.

Hiring a seasoned real estate professional will help you sell your home quickly. Ensure you hire someone with experience selling homes in your area and a track record of fast sales. They will know how to market to your target audience, provide insight on needed repairs and help you set the right price.

• Ask for referrals: Ask your family, friends and coworkers for recommendations. According to the NAR 2023 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 43% of buyers and 65% of sellers used an agent that was referred to them.
• Attend open houses: Look through your neighborhood to see which agents list homes. Attend open houses to meet agents in person and speak with them directly.
• Interview multiple agents: You don’t need to hire the first agent you interview. Chat and compare multiple agents, verify their licenses and check online reviews. 

Your listing needs to be brief, informative, compelling and unique. Keep it to one or two paragraphs, skip the dry facts like the number of bedrooms and square footage and tell your home’s story.

• Lead with your home’s best features, neighborhood highlights and proximity to attractions and amenities. 
• Hook buyers with a compelling statement with specific home details to grab their attention.
• If you live in a place vulnerable to extreme weather or natural disasters, list amenities, such as hurricane shutters, that will set buyers’ minds at ease.

Great photography is essential to your listing. “It’s all about good photos and visuals,” McDonnell says. “The way you present your home can get it off the market and even create a bidding war if done right.” McDonnell also advises to include unique things about your home to make it “pop” and stand out from the others in your local market. 

• Hire a professional photographer: This is the best way to make your home stand out if it’s within budget.
• Take exterior photos during the Golden Hour: If you’re going it alone, take exterior photos in optimal early-morning or early-evening light.
• Avoid filter overkill: While it’s fun for Instagram, an overly filtered photo sends the message that you’re hiding something.
• Share multiple perspectives for each room: Consider wide-angle and close-up views of your home’s key features. 
• Consider a 3D Walkthrough/Video: A virtual tour can help sell your home through deeper engagement. According to the NAR November 2024 Confidence Index, 5% of buyers bought a home based on a virtual tour alone.

 An effective marketing strategy creates a sense of urgency, increases visibility and attracts more offers – all of which can lead to a faster home sale. And these days, marketing your home is more than publishing an online listing and posting a “For Sale” sign in your yard.

Peak buying season is April through June, so listing during that time frame can help you realize the quickest home sale. Still, there are three key ways that you can promote your home, regardless of when you decide to sell. 

• Open houses: Host open houses so prospective buyers can view your home in person. Turn lights on in every room and make it inviting.
• Online platforms: Maximize your exposure by sharing your Homes.com listing on social media sites and with local neighborhood groups.
• Neighborhood/local channels: Community bulletin boards and newsletters are a free, effective way to increase exposure. 

A well-marketed home generates interest, but allowing buyers to experience the space in person can seal the deal. Since buyers want to see homes on their schedules, being flexible with showings can increase your chances of selling quickly. “Having as much access as possible is key,” Cook says. 

Provide availability on evenings and weekends, and do your best to make your home available on short notice for potential buyers. Keep your home show-ready at all times.

If you receive a cash offer, you can expect a quicker home sale since the buyer does not have to go through the approval and financing process with a mortgage lender. “In a cash deal, the titles would probably take the longest,” Cook says. “Closing could be as early as two weeks.” 

However, keep in mind that the bulk of homebuyers need to finance their purchase. NAR data shows that only 26% of homebuyers pay cash. You may be more likely to receive a cash offer in the following scenarios:

• A strong cash offer could be an effective strategy in a seller’s market, where a bidding war could develop since buyer demand exceeds the available supply of homes for sale.   
• A real estate investor may be more likely to purchase your home with cash, particularly if they want to reinvest the proceeds from the sale of another property used to generate rental income.    
• If your home has significant issues and you want to sell it as-is, it may attract professional house flippers who seek to renovate and resell your home.   
• An iBuyer is an online company that will buy a house with cash quickly. However, it’s common for the purchase price to be lower than what you’d receive if you listed your home for sale. Most iBuyers also deduct a service fee; Bankrate indicates that the fee may amount to 6% to 8% of the home’s purchase price. 

Swift, clear communication can be the difference between closing the deal and a potential buyer losing interest. Quick responses, even to lower offers, can speed up the entire process and show a willingness to work with buyers. Be as open to negotiation and flexible with closing dates as possible to keep the process moving toward a quick sale. 

Selling your home fast comes down to putting your best foot forward when you take steps to price, prepare and market your property. Working with an experienced real estate agent is also key to navigating the process. With these tips and the right agent, you can maximize the odds for a swift and successful sale.