Measuring 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.

Here are just a few:

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.

You can see that the speed with which you can sell a house is deal maker or deal breaker. 

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
2. Cleaning the house so it looks, smells and feels like a home
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.

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. 

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 July 2024).

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).

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.

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.