How Long Will it Take to Sell Your Home?

San Diego home sellers always ask agents, “How long will it take to sell my home?” Of course, there are many factors involved in the selling of a home in any market, including San Diego. There is no single right answer to the question, but it can be helpful to understand the various aspects of a home sale that can affect how quickly it sells.

The Pre-Listing Process of a Home Sale

Selling a home in San Diego or anywhere else involves a pre-listing process. The pre-listing process of a home sale will vary slightly depending on circumstances, but in general it goes something like this:

1. The owner decides to sell. Usually, this comes about over time. The decision to sell your home isn’t one that is taken lightly. But once it does happen, that’s when the flurry of activity begins.

2. An agent is chosen. The next thing that most San Diego homeowners will do is search for a real estate agent to list their home for sale. This may take a week, between the time that you start searching for and calling agents, and the time that the agent interview appointments are scheduled.

3. The listing price is decided. The agent will go back to the office, prepare some comps, and return for a discussion with the owner about the possible listing price.

4. The home undergoes a makeover. Any unfinished renovations or remodeling takes place. The owner clears out personal items and puts them into storage.

5. The home is inspected. This step may or not be done at this stage. Some agents recommend a home inspection to eliminate the possibility of unpleasant surprises during purchase negotiations.

6. The home is staged. If you and your agent decide to stage the home, rental furniture may be brought in, and a decorator will stage the home for the listing photographs.

7. Listing images are taken. The agent or a professional photographer or videographer will come in to get images for the MLS listing.

8. The agent lists the home on the MLS. It goes live several hours later.

Now, bear in mind, these are just the beginning stages of a home sale. At this point, the home has only begun to be listed. You haven’t even had your first showing appointment yet! The steps listed above can take anywhere from two to four weeks to complete, depending on everyone’s schedules. If extensive renovations have to be done, the pre-listing process will take much longer.

Other Factors That Influence How Long It Will Take to Sell Your Home in San Diego

1. Local Market Conditions

Local market conditions have a tremendous influence on how long it takes to sell a home. In San Diego currently, conditions are highly favorable on the side of the home seller. Inventory is low, and many sellers are getting asking price for their properties. When inventory is so low, there’s less competition for sellers, which makes homes sell faster. Sellers tend to worry that if they don’t make an offer on the first house that appeals to them, they may not find another for a very long time.

2. The State of the General Economy

The state of the general economy also plays a big role in how fast your home might sell. The general economy influences interest rates, employment stability, and how willing banks are to lend money. In turn, this affects how easily buyers will be able to obtain financing. Currently the economy is thriving; more so than in recent years. In the current economic situation, conditions are ripe for selling your San Diego home.

3. The Neighborhood Comps

In a seller’s market, neighborhood comps are less important, but they do still hold some bearing on how fast your home will sell. Your agent will have carefully researched the neighborhood comps before you and he decided on a listing price. If your home’s listing price is in line with neighborhood comps, your home will have just as much a chance of selling fast as any other home on the market. However, if you’ve priced it too high for any reason, this might make it take a little longer to move off the market. If it’s priced well below neighborhood comps, it will sell quickly, allowing you to move on with your life faster.

4. Extensive Renovations

If you’ve been the type of homeowner who is constantly renovating, remodeling or redecorating, chances are that your decision to sell caught you in the middle of renovations. You may also need some work done on the house depending on the results of your inspection report. As you know, it can take a long time to get subcontractors out to complete renovations. If you’ve decided to get some landscaping done to enhance curb appeal, that will take time, too. It’s not like months have to pass before your home will sell. But larger renovations will extend that timeframe.

5. Weather

Believe it or not, weather does play a role in how long it will take to sell your home, even in San Diego. San Diego buyers are more likely to look for new homes when they have time to do so, which is usually in the summer. Even though San Diego weather is balmy most of the year, summer is the favorite season to shop for new homes. That’s not to say you shouldn’t list your home during any other time of year. But summer is when it might sell the fastest.

Some homes fly off the market as soon as they hit the MLS, while others linger for six months or more. Just keep in mind the factors mentioned above that can influence how long it will take to sell your home in San Diego. If you don’t like to be disappointed, you can safely anticipate a serious offer within a three-month timeframe. If you get one before that, you can be pleased. If it takes longer, you still know you don’t have anything serious to worry about. Just keep in mind the factors mentioned above that can influence how long it will take to sell your home in San Diego.