Homebuyers are flocking to Houston for its lower cost of living, diverse culinary scene, and nearby beaches. This surge in popularity, underscored by Houston ranking fifth in a PODS survey of cities with the highest number of move-ins, works in your favor if you’re aiming to sell your house fast in Houston.
Whether you’ve inherited a house, want to put a divorce behind you, cash out your home’s equity, or relocate for work, your two best strategies if you need to sell your house fast are:
1) pursuing a cash offer, or
2) working with a top real estate agent.
Sell Your Houston House Fast With an All-Cash Offer
Get an all-cash, no-obligation offer on your Houston home through HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform whenever you’re ready. Receive your offer in 24 hours and close in as few as 10 days. No showings, no repairs, no open houses.
In this guide, we’ll review each option to help you decide which one makes the most sense for your home sale.
Get a cash offer with HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform for a fast sale
HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform connects you to the largest network of real estate investors in the U.S. We use the information you provide about your home plus local neighborhood data to get you a great cash offer, allowing you to close in as little as 10 days. Simple Sale saves time in other ways since clients can skip repairs, home prep, and showings while still receiving a strong offer from our network.
Here are the three easy steps in the Simple Sale process:
Working with a top agent to sell your house fast in Houston
This option is for sellers who would like to sell faster than average, but who have a little more time to devote to a traditional sale vs. an instant cash offer. HomeLight data shows that not only do top agents sell their clients’ homes more quickly than average agents, but the top 5% of agents sell homes for 4.8% more than average agents.
If you still want to sell quickly but have some flexibility in your timeline, this can be a great strategy to both sell quickly and maximize your home sale.
Sell Fast With an All-Cash Offer
HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform allows clients to sell quickly and easily and without the prep work or uncertainty of a traditional sale. Receive your offer in 24 hours and close in as little as 10 days
How fast are homes selling in Houston?
Market conditions play an important role in determining how quickly or slowly a home will sell in a given area. Your real estate agent should be up-to-date on local market trends and conditions, including the best time to sell, and how long homes typically take to go from ‘for sale’ to ‘pending.’
In the Houston metropolitan area, the median single-family home price as of Q4 2023 was $330,000, and homes sat on the market for a median of 56 days. During the same period a year prior, Houston-area homes took a median of 36 days to go under contract. It took, on average, another 45 days for a buyer to close on a conventional mortgage as of December 2023, according to data from Ice Mortgage Technology.
Overall, the Houston metropolitan area is still growing. In December 2023, Metro Houston created 3,600 jobs, and its realtors closed on 102,389 homes across all housing types. This was the slowest pace of home sales since 2018, but the decline can largely be attributed to higher interest rates pricing some buyers out of the market.
| Days on market (average time from list to contract) | 56 days* |
| Days to close conventional home loan | 45 days |
| Median home sale price | $330,000 |
| Supply of inventory | 3.3 months |
| Number of closed home sales year-over-year | -14% |
*Does not include time for buyer to close the loan
Data sources: Greater Houston Partnership, ICE Mortgage Technology
Strategies to sell home fast in Houston
“Consumers who are buying in Houston want houses with outdoor spaces and swimming pools,” says Cindy Boutwell, a top real agent in Houston who sells 72% more single-family homes than the average agent in her market. “They also want to be in master-planned communities that have amenities and highly rated school districts.”
Other features Houston homebuyers look for include:
- Ground floor primary suite
- Media room
- Home office
- Spacious and open layouts
- Multi-car garages
- Nearby amenities such as grocery stores and coffee shops
Highlighting any of these sought-after features can help sell your house fast in Houston.
Listing your home in Houston means facing competition not only from neighboring properties but also from new construction developments. To ensure a quick sale, it’s crucial to keep your home updated and in line with current market trends.
“Houses sell faster when they’re clean, organized, decluttered, and have some curb appeal,” notes Boutwell. You may not be able to afford to tackle every repair the home needs but you can add planters to the front porch, paint the door an eye-catching color, and make sure the house is clean and full of light. Houses that look good and are priced right tend to sell the fastest.
Houses in highly rated school districts and desirable neighborhoods also tend to sell quickly. Some buyers value city life and being able to walk or bike to boutiques and restaurants, while others prefer a suburban life with a bit more space.
A top agent like Boutwell can bring value to the sale of your Houston home because they understand the local market and buyer preferences, and ensure that your house is priced correctly from the start.
Top-performing agents negotiate on your behalf, have access to marketing materials, are experienced with social media, and can connect you with a professional photographer or videographer who will showcase your home’s best features.
Houses in warm climates like Houston sometimes benefit from having a pool; either a private pool in the backyard or access to a community pool. They also tend to have indoor/outdoor living spaces for enjoying the warm weather year-round. Home features like outdoor kitchens, pizza ovens, and shaded lounge areas are also popular.
So, whether you’re collaborating with a top agent or opting for a cash offer, you have solid options to sell your house fast in Houston. These methods cater to different needs but share the common goal of facilitating a swift and efficient home sale.
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