How Long To Sell A House By Zip Code

Knowing how long it will take to sell your house could mean the difference between deciding to do it or not.

People don’t want to wait around.  They want results.

And for many, they need results. 

There are countless reasons why the amount of time it takes to sell a house is important. Sellers often spend significant time and effort preparing, listing, and marketing their homes before a sale is finalized. Knowing what that will take, end to end, is critical to their success!

Many factors, such as market conditions, property condition, and timing, can influence how long it takes to sell a house. You can see that the speed with which sellers can sell a house is a deal maker or deal breaker.

Here are just a few of the key considerations:

1. Relocation – Nobody wants to hold two mortgages at once.
2. Foreclosure – Selling a house quickly before foreclosure is requires a fast process.
3. Disrepair – Repairs left unchecked can continue to damage the house and structure.
4. Family Issues – Helping parents or siblings with problem properties requires speed.
5. Planning – Sometimes knowing how long a house sale takes helps you plan ahead.

We built our estimator tool around three main phases of selling a house.

At this point, it’s important to note that the average time to sell a house by zip code is often measured in weeks, not just days. This helps provide a more accurate picture of the process and allows sellers to plan accordingly.

Here’s how we measured how long it takes to sell a house by zip code.

Our Formula – Where The Data Comes From

We did the heavy lifting so you don’t have to.

Pulling data by zip codes across the entire country is not a walk in the park – which is why we built this estimator tool so that you can easily enter your zip code and see how long it would take to sell your property.

But now that the hard work is done, here’s how the sausage is made:

We built our estimator tool around three main phases of selling a house.

Let’s break those out.

Phase 1: Pre-Listing (4-8 weeks on average)

The pre-listing phase includes everything from finding and hiring and agent to getting the house ready for a listing.

While some homeowners may be able to get this all done in just under 2 weeks, it’s very common for this phase to take multiple months.

Here’s why:

Finding an agent typically takes one to two weeks at a minimum.

It’s what happens after you find an agent that prolongs this phase.  And for many, that includes:

1. Making repairs so that the house appeals to the maximum amount of buyers. These repairs are often aimed to attract more buyers and offers by making the property more appealing and “market ready”.
2. Cleaning the house so it looks, smells and feels like a home. Nobody want to buy a mess.
3. Decluttering any mess by moving or storing personal belongings.
4. Waiting for the agent to complete paperwork, photos, disclosures and other listing contracts
5. Creating property descriptions, marketing as a pocket listing and setting up a listing campaign

Points #1 and #2 are the biggest drivers of a longer “pre-listing” timeline. 

But they are typically also requirements for your listing agent to do their job. They signed up to sell your house assuming that these things will get accomplished. And, in their defense, homes with easy access to amenities, schools and shopping tend to be easier sells and move quicker on market (even though they are out of your control).

The reason steps #1 and #2 are so challenging is because they typically require third-party contractors, cleaners or tradesmen to get the house where it needs to be.

Have you ever had a contractor “ghost” you? 

Exactly!

Fact-Check: Our model assumes 5 weeks or 35 days on average to get your house listed.

Phase 2: Days On Market (computed by zip code – 6 weeks on average)

We went out to Realtor.com^® Economic Research and pulled some data for average days on market by zip code. 

You cannot get more precise than this.

And it was not an easy lift.

Here’s how we did it:

Step 1: Pull The Data

For us, we wanted data from one of the big players in the market: Zillow, Redfin or Realtor.com®.

We started with Realtor.com®, and got lucky.

Realtor.com® gets the gold star for producing high-quality and accessible data, which is why it is widely used by realtors and industry experts.

After navigating to their data center, we selected the zip file download of all zip code data.

Not an easy download for my machine.  It took 8 minutes!

Step 2: Process The Data

With the newly sourced data now ported into excel, I could start my analysis.

Step 3: Build The Tool

After converting the data into a meaningful table, we build the tool above so that you can simply enter your zip code and the days on market for that particular zip code will pull in to the equation below:

Pretty nifty way to estimate how long homes take to sell in your zip code.

Fact-Check: On average, across the United States, homes stay listed on the market for 60 days (as of January 2026).

Phase 3: Time To Close (6-8 weeks on average)

Our estimate of the time it takes from getting an offer to closing is one that we are fairly confident in.

For one, many others agree with us:

1. ValuePenguin
2. Rocket Mortgage
3. HomeLight

But, also…this isn’t our first rodeo.

We have been in the home buying business long enough to know that it takes about 6-8 weeks on average to get a transaction closed. 

In reality, this a number that usually grows (vs. shrinks).

There are many things that cause delays: financing problems, title issues, outstanding liens, bankruptcies, probates, pre-foreclosures, etc.

Fact-Check: Our model assumes 7 weeks or 49 days on average to close a real estate transaction (from offer to settlement).

Best Time to List Your Home by Zip Code – When Our Tool Breaks!

When you’re thinking about selling your house, timing really can make all the difference. I’ve seen this play out countless times. The best time to list your home in your zip code isn’t just picking a date off the calendar, but rather understanding what’s actually happening in your local market and using that to your advantage. Every zip code has its own thing going on, and knowing when and how buyers operate is crucial for success.

Always contact your local agent or home buyer for more information on the best time of year in your area. They’ve got access to the real numbers and can break down what’s happening in your zip code. Our tool simply cannot account for the following intangibles:

1. Things like what homes are actually listing for, what they’re worth, and how long they’re sitting on the market. If you overprice a home…it will sit for months.
2. How comparable your house is to similar ones in your are. Do you have a standard house or is it different than others (and therefore longer to sell).
3. What time of year are you looking to do this? Spring and Fall are great, but be careful listing it right before the holiday season!

What I usually see is that seasonal trends matter more than people realize. Take families with kids—they don’t want to move in the middle of the school year if they can help it. So Summer can get busy too.

In some zip codes, Spring is when everyone’s looking. In others, Fall might be your sweet spot. I always tell people to look at how long houses actually take to sell in their area during different months. That gives you the real picture of when to list.

Don’t overlook the simple stuff that makes your house stand out. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a house sell faster just because someone fixed the obvious problems, slapped on some fresh paint, and cleaned up the yard.

And here’s what works wonders: getting your personal stuff out of there and staging it a bit. Buyers need to picture themselves living there. It sounds basic, but it works!

The National Association of Realtors puts out solid data on home sales, listing prices, and market timing by zip code. Combined with what a local home buyer knows about your area and you’ve got what you need to figure out the best time to sell.

Is it perfect science? No.

But it gives you a real shot at timing things right and getting the most out of your house in the shortest amount of time.

Do You Need To Sell Your House Faster?

So there you have it – you can easily tell just how long it takes to sell your house based on the zip code it is in.

From where you are right now, sitting behind your computer or phone, you have a pretty good idea of how long it would take if you started today.

But what if that number just feels a bit too long?

What if you don’t have the luxury of time?

No worries, we got you!

My team and I are professional home buyers.  You can sell your house to us in a fraction of the time listed above. Selling quicker means you get your money sooner. You don’t have to wait around for lengthy listing processes to finish or market conditions to line up. We can buy your houses, “as is”, in less than 30 days.

We cut through all the nonsense because:

1. We are not realtors – no fees or commissions.
2. We buy “as is” – no repairs or cleaning.
3. We close fast – no listings or prolonged negotiations.
4. We close with cash – no contingencies.

Do you need to sell your house fast? 

Fill out this form to get started:

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Author: Doug Greene

Doug Greene is no stranger to all topics real estate and business. For over a decade he has been educating others and helping homeowners navigate difficult, complex problems with their property.

His work has been featured in the NY Times, Washington Post, Realtor.com, Apartment Therapy, HomeLight, Homes & Gardens and many more.