How long will it take your house to sell? It depends on these six factors.
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How long does it actually take to sell a house?
According to Realtor.com, the average number of days on market throughout the United States is about 65 right now. However, there are some different factors I usually tell people about that will determine this number:
Location is the biggest factor in determining how long it takes a home to sell.
- Location: How close you are to a main street in your town or a major transportation hub like the metro system will play a huge role.
- Price: You obviously don’t want to overprice your house because there will be a smaller buyer pool looking at it. You could also run into appraisal issues down the road.
- Season: The market can change with the season, like if we get slammed with snow over the holidays or it gets very hot in the summer.
- Inventory: What’s it like in your neighborhood? I’ve seen neighborhoods with no houses for sale (which is great) up to neighborhoods with so many houses for sale that I’ve had to tell sellers to wait it out a bit.
- School districts: A lot of people go on school rating websites to see about schools in the area and how they rank.
- Walkability: Is the house somewhere where you can walk to Starbucks or Trader Joe’s? Some neighborhoods have much better walkability than others, but some buyers also don’t care as much about this.
These are typically the factors that determine how long a home will take to sell in the northern Virginia market. If you have any questions for me or you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in the area, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be glad to help.
