Trying to Sell Your House in 7 Days?

Option #2: Recruit a top agent and make your home irresistible to the market

If the cons of a cash sale appear to outweigh the pros for you, don’t worry. The tried and true approach to selling your home fast on the open market with a top agent is still a viable option — especially if you’re in a hot area for real estate.

The National Association of Realtors forecasts 4.46 million existing-home sales in 2024, a 9% increase from 2023. Also, the inventory of existing unsold homes rose to 1.35 million at the end of August 2024, a 0.7% increase from the month prior.

Fannie Mae’s latest report reveals that in August 2024, 65% of consumers expressed optimism about selling a home. Moreover, 39% of consumers still anticipate a decrease in mortgage rates over the next year, foreshadowing improved consumer sentiment toward homebuying in 2024.

All of this is great news if you’re ready to sell quickly. That being said, if you aren’t in a hot market, selling fast may take some extra effort. Here’s how to sell fast on the open market:

Step 1: Find an agent who has a low days-on-market average

When you’re pressed for time, finding a top agent who has a laser-focused strategy, precision pricing skills, and negotiating superpowers is all the more important. In addition to knowledge of local market conditions, a good agent knows how to speed up your home’s sale.

Here are three quick-selling tactics used by Aimee Anderson, a top agent in Raleigh, North Carolina, who sells homes 55% faster than the average agent in her market:

• Planting “Coming Soon” signs to generate buzz ahead of time
• Targeting strategic advertising times
• Holding buyers to swift deadlines to convey a sense of urgency in the timeline

To spot a fast-selling agent, check their record for typical days on market (DOM). DOM tracks the time between when a house is listed and when it’s sold or taken off the market. If an agent’s average DOM is lower than average, it’s a good sign that they price homes correctly and know how to attract quick offers. HomeLight can also introduce you to a top real estate agent in your market with a track record of fast sales.

Step 2: Get a pre-listing inspection to get ahead of repairs

A pre-listing inspection is a proactive step taken by the seller, who arranges and pays for the inspection before putting the home on the market. This approach identifies potential inspection issues early, allowing for quicker resolutions and a smoother selling process if problems arise later. This step can decrease your odds of running into closing surprises that delay deals, such as lingering repairs, requests, and renegotiations.

A pre-listing inspection allows you to either tackle necessary repairs in advance or account for any larger problems with the home in your initial price by disclosing them upfront to buyers. Also, if last-minute problems do arise, and you still want to sell quickly, your agent will already have a general idea of the issues laid out in the pre-listing inspection. That means they’ll be more prepared to adjust pricing, make concessions, or quickly rally professionals to help make a repair.

Step 3: Clean and declutter your house

Adopting a deep-clean, minimalist mentality is crucial to boosting your home’s appeal if you’re looking to sell your house in seven days. Here are a few tips to get your house ready for the market:

• Declutter and make your house a blank canvas: Decluttering can increase your home’s value by 3% to 5%, according to a survey by Consumer Reports. In addition to getting rid of the clutter, it’s important to focus on depersonalizing your home so potential buyers can visualize themselves living in it.
• Deep clean from top to bottom: Consult HomeLight’s deep cleaning checklist to get every room in the house sparkling. You’ll need to clean thoroughly by scrubbing, sweeping, dusting, and vacuuming floors and surfaces to get your house ready for sale.

If you’re overwhelmed with home prep, hire someone to help you. According to Angi, deep cleanings cost $118 to $236 on average.

Step 4: Amp up your curb appeal

Making simple improvements to the exterior of your home will increase your chances of attracting an offer quickly. Here are a few of the top curb appeal projects to give your home an instant upgrade:

• Freshen up your front door with a coat of paint and add a new doormat.
• Flex your green thumb by refreshing mulch or replacing dead or dying plants.
• Wash dirt and grime off your home’s exterior (be careful not to chip the paint if you’re power washing).

Step 5: Price aggressively to sell your house in 7 days

With your agent’s expertise and analysis of market data, you can devise a pricing strategy that will boost your shot at getting an offer within your seven-day deadline. Without much breathing room to let your house linger on the market, your agent may recommend pricing the property slightly under market value to attract multiple offers.

Step 6: Prioritize offers with fewer contingencies and faster closing dates

Anderson explains how “you need to look at every part of the offer” to identify the least complicated and contingent-dependent deal. The fewer contingencies, the faster you likely will get to closing day. If you receive a cash offer during this process, it will probably be your fastest bid. However, it’s important to remember that if your buyer has a mortgage, the sale timeline still depends on the lender involved.

Talk with an agent to sell your house fast

Your strategy for successfully selling your house in seven days will depend on your circumstances. If your timeline and needs indicate that selling for cash is the right route for you, be sure to properly vet your prospective buyers to get the best value possible. And if listing on the open market seems like your best bet, communicate your goals to your real estate agent so they can tailor their strategy toward a fast sale. Selling your home in seven days is no easy task and could require some sacrifices, but you do have options.

Header Image Source: (K8 / Unsplash)