How to sell a house

Selling your first home can feel overwhelming, especially in today’s fast-moving market. In early June, the average home was on the market for only 22 days, the National Association of REALTORS® reported. Being prepared in advance can help you sell your home quickly for the best price.

Here’s what to expect when you sell a house, from preparation and pricing to staging and closing. You might be feeling nervous about all the uncertainty, but these practical tips and strategies can help you navigate the process.

Why is preparation important before selling a house?

If buyers see your home decorated with your collections, photos, and other personal items, they may struggle to see themselves living there. If your rooms become more like a blank slate, it’s easier for prospective homebuyers to see the possibilities. 

You’ve also likely become oblivious to some minor wear and tear: a smudge where your hand pushes the back door open, streaks across your hardwood floors, or the shudder of a loose garage door chain. 

Here are some tips to help you get your home ready to sell:

• Store items: Pack up family photos and other belongings, and remove clutter or nonessential items.
• Clean thoroughly: Have carpets and curtains cleaned, wash windows, and wipe down walls and ceilings.
• Refresh where needed: Consider a new coat of paint in areas that look faded. You don’t need to completely renovate rooms, you just want to help the buyers see a room’s possibilities instead of a spot where the paint is worn away.

The time and money you put into cleaning, resurfacing, and making small repairs could be some of the best you’ve ever spent. 

How do I find the right real estate agent?

Whether you’re looking for a real estate agent or a licensed REALTOR®, online support, or in-person help, the question is not merely can they get the job done, but which one is best suited to sell your home.

Having conversations with at least three real estate agents can help you find the right fit. Here’s what to focus on as you research agents:

• Legitimate licensing: Go to your state licensing board’s website and look up the agent. Make sure you’re not working with a scammer or someone with significant disciplinary actions.
• Local knowledge: Choose an agent who knows your area well and understands the types of buyers who will be interested in your home.
• Active listening: Work with someone who hears your goals and concerns, reflects them back to you, and details how you’ll address them together. 
• Standout strategies: Look up the agent’s current and recently sold listings. Ideally, they’ll have enticing descriptions, crisp photos, and attractive staging. Check out how those homes’ prices and days on the market stack up against comparable properties. 
• Gut feeling: Selling your home is a huge transaction. If an agent is giving all the right answers but the vibe is off, listen to your intuition and don’t work with them. 

How should I price my house?

Find listings for homes that are similar to yours in location, size, and condition. See what they sold for (or what they’re listed for). Set your listing price higher or lower to account for its differences. Your agent can handle the research and guide your decisions. 

Putting a higher-than-warranted price tag on your home is generally a bad idea. If you overprice your home, some potential buyers will never see it. Instead, it will be filtered out of their search results until you have to drop the price. If you underprice your home, multiple offers could just drive up the price to market value.

Keep in mind that a new roof might make your home more valuable than one with disintegrating shingles. Lack of central air might make it less valuable than one with updated air conditioning. You might be surprised by what features and flaws impact the price and by how much.

What are the best tips for staging a home?

Most of us don’t have the time, money or design skills to make our homes look magazine-ready. But you can still incorporate these basic staging tips to make a home more appealing to buyers:

• Declutter aggressively: You may still be living in the home and have children or pets. Pack up most of your possessions so your home’s features can shine.
• Downsize furniture: Oversized furniture can be comfortable and practical, but the way we live can make a space look smaller or feel cramped. That’s not the impression you want your home to make on buyers. 
• Brighten up: Clean the windows, pull up the blinds, and open the curtains. Letting in more natural light is another way to make your home feel more spacious and inviting.
• Deodorize: Everyone’s home has a smell. You’re used to it, but outsiders will immediately pick up on dog odor or your fabric softener. To help neutralize your air, stop using scented products, let fresh air flow through your home, vacuum frequently, and run air purifiers.
• Let the pros handle it: For a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, a professional stager can use their design skills, decor inventory, and even rented furniture to make your home look so good you’ll wish you weren’t moving.

How do open houses and private showings work?

An open house allows anyone to visit your home during set hours. You’ll get plenty of curious neighbors, plus buyers who aren’t ready to make an offer or can’t afford your asking price, and maybe a few who are. Some agents think open houses are an efficient way to show a home and generate buzz — and they can be, under the right conditions. Others think they’re a waste of time and only schedule private showings.

Private showings are typically limited to serious buyers who have an agent. Their agent will work with your agent to coordinate a visit. Private showings can be inconvenient when you’re still living in the home because each interested party requires a separate visit, unlike an open house. But they can also be more likely to result in an offer.

What are the steps to closing the sale?

After you prepare, price, and show your house, all that’s left is completing the sale. Here are the steps you can expect to follow:

1. Review offers: Potential buyers may have different timelines, contingencies, financing, and bids. You might want to counteroffer to seek a higher price, earlier closing, lease back the home for a month, or otherwise make your life easier. You may get multiple offers to choose from around the same time. 
2. Accept the best offer: The highest-priced offer may not always be the best one. It may be one that’s more likely to close because it has a fully underwritten mortgage pre-approval or no contingencies. Your choice depends on your priorities. You might want to close as soon as possible, get as much money as possible, or sell your home to a family who loves your property as is. It’s up to you.
3. Keep track of deadlines: Your agent will manage this process, but it’s good to be aware of deadlines. If the seller’s offer has contingencies for a home appraisal, financing, and inspection, each contingency will have a deadline for the buyer to either waive it, ask for a concession, or back out of the deal. Your agent will keep you updated on the timeline. 
4. Deal with surprises: The buyer might want you to lower the price or fix something their home inspector finds. The title search might find an erroneously recorded lien. The buyer’s lender might miss the closing date you agreed to. Your real estate agent can help you respond to the unexpected, such as what concessions or fixes are reasonable.

Review and sign closing documents: These documents will show you the total transaction costs, require you to attest to your identity and ownership, transfer your home’s title to the buyer, authorize sale proceeds to pay off your mortgage (if any), and cover your agent’s commission.

How to sell a house FAQ

What are the costs involved in selling a house?

To sell your home, you may need to pay for repairs, improvements, staging, cleaning, a real estate agent’s commission, a real estate attorney’s fees, and a portion of the buyer’s closing costs. The average cost of a total-home renovation in 2024 ranged from $19,514 to $87,474 according to Angi, but you might be able to reduce your upfront costs by making only the most important changes or focusing on specific areas. Closing costs covered by sellers typically range from 5% to 10% of the sale price. If the home sells for $350,000, you can expect to pay roughly $17,500 to $35,000 at closing.

How can I sell my house quickly?

You can sell your home quickly by listing it at a competitive price. You can also make your home look desirable by cleaning, decluttering, and staging rooms. The easier it is for buyers to picture themselves at home, the more likely they are to make an offer. In addition, if you know there are issues that might prolong negotiations — items the buyer might ask you to repair such as a leaky roof, broken air conditioner, or plumbing problems — you can speed up the sale later by fixing problems ahead of time. 

What are common mistakes to avoid when selling a house?

Sellers can run into problems when they make errors like these:

• Setting the price too high
• Not making essential repairs
• Not cleaning or decluttering
• Misrepresenting the home’s condition
• Not planning for closing costs
• Being afraid to counteroffer — or wait for a better offer.

What should I do if my house isn’t selling?

If your house isn’t selling, ask your agent for advice. They may be able to ask other agents why buyers who saw your home didn’t make an offer. They might suggest dropping the price, offering buyers a credit to replace the old carpet, or hiring a lawn service to spruce up your yard. You might even decide to take your home off the market, wait a few months, then try again. Your budget and timeline will guide your decision.