How long on average to sell a house

JennyW_2

what's the average time for selling a property? Mine's only just gone on the market but I've been browsing the estate agents websites and notice that some have just sold/sale agreed but notice from the pictures that perhaps they went on the market summer time (sunny weather/leaves on trees etc).

Just wondering what to expect really

danield

I'd be grateful for any info on this matter as well. Our house has been on the market for just under a month but we've not had anyone round to view yet. Is this normal? Being a first-time seller I too am not sure what to expect.

Daniel D

P.S - Apologies, JennyW for not giving any answers to you question.

lindabea

This is a very difficult question to answer. I have seen properties that sell within a few days, some may not have gone on the market - just word of mouth from the estate agent. Others, may remain on the market for over a year with still little or no interest. The reason for this varies, from location to state of property. The list is endless. What you have to do to sell quickly, is make sure your properrty is in good order and presentable. Ask for the agent's advise and possible feedback from people who have not made an offer after viewing.

suki1964

How long to sell takes in many factors such as local market force and disirability/price. Where I am there is a strong market and houses sell within a month on average.

Daniel, have you been back to your EA and asked why no viewers as of yet? Is the EA actively marketing your property - web/papers/window?

danield

Hi,

Just spoke to the EA. He says the market is a bit slow at the moment. Lots of visits on their websites but, as yet, no phone calls about it.

The property is advertised online, in newspapers and in shop window. Additionally, there is a 360 degree virtual tour of 4 rooms on the website, so prospective buyers can find out a lot about the property over the Internet.

EA says they usually start to get phone calls after 3-4 weeks with viewings around 4-5 weeks.

Daniel D

dragonfly02

hi, i have a friend who's 3 bed house has been on the market just short of 2 years. Admitedly he was optomistic about the price at first and followed a few neighbourhood prices and slowly but surely he has dropped the price, it is now quite realistic but he has yet to sell it. Infact he's had to take a small mortgage for his next house as he has got to realistic price on the house. (he's not desperate as has money from another sale)
None of us can see why it hasn't sold and i'm sure it will.
He has "sold" it 3 times over the 2 years but all have dropped out mainly FTBers.
It is in what they call an upmarket area

As first time buyers with a household income of approx £30k we have been offered a mortgage of £105k? problem being we need 3 bed which is impossible.

Just thought i'd add my info so people can see maybe why ftbers are not snapping up their £150,000 houses

Another friend selling in a not so upmarket area (say no more) his 2 bed house was valued at £113k and put on the market for that, 7 months on its priced at £97k and little or no interest but he's prepared to drop as he only paid £65k

jenniferpa

It's an interesting point whether video tours or the like actually work to the sellers advantage. You may not get many time wasters looking round the property, but equally, you don't get people who may need to see the real property in order to be pushed over the edge. I think a month is a long time, even in the winter, to wait for any viewings. Assuming the property is not exceptional (in a bad way) in terms of location or repair, I would suspect that price may be a sticking point.

How long to wait for a sale, is, as others have pointed out like asking how long is a piece of string. We just sold my Mother's house (3 bdrm, desirable neigborhood, but needing updates) within a week of putting it on the market, but the price was realistic, and completed the sale in just under 8 weeks.

Jennifer

michaels

MY road, last year some props took up to three months, this year nothing lasts longer than 3 weeks and most sell in days - usually before getting boards/estate agent coverage...

dander

danield wrote:

EA says they usually start to get phone calls after 3-4 weeks with viewings around 4-5 weeks.

That sounds to me like an estate agent who's not making much effort. The estate agent should be getting on the phone to his mailing list as soon as he takes your property on. You pay the estate agent to be proactive and to go out and get the house sold, not to sit back and wait for people to call.