If you’ve been searching for answers about how to sell your house fast in Houston, you might be a bit worried. Prices are up, according to Redfin data, but as buyers struggle with high mortgage rates, fewer homes are selling. And those that do have been taking longer to get there — four days longer than this time last year.
If you’re really in a rush to unload your Houston home, though, don’t despair. Thanks to iBuyers and a wide variety of other homebuying companies that forego traditional market methods, you might be able to get a cash offer as soon as tomorrow. Read on to learn more about how to sell your house fast in Houston, and how much you can expect to make from the sale.
How fast can you sell your home in Houston?
Redfin data shows that homes here spent a median of 48 days on the market in February 2024. That’s not forever, but it’s only the time it took for homes to go into contract. After that, most sellers have to wait for their buyer’s financing to come through before they can close.
Need to sell faster?
If you can’t afford to wait over a month — if you need the proceeds right away, for example, or if you need to relocate in a hurry for work reasons — there are ways to speed up the process.
- Sell to an iBuyer: Houston is a hot market for iBuying: The two biggest names in the biz, Opendoor and Offerpad, both actively purchase homes in the area. Both move very fast, often making all-cash offers within 24 hours, and they can close within a few weeks rather than a few months. But don’t expect a massive payday — these companies typically charge fees for their services and are not likely to offer as much as you might make selling the traditional way.
- Sell to a local homebuying company: There are loads of companies that buy houses for cash in Houston, and these are especially good options if your home is in less-than-perfect condition. Cash homebuyers are looking for deals that they can fix up and turn into a profit via a rental or resale, and like iBuyers, they make fast offers and can close with remarkable speed.
- Be flexible: Work with a real estate agent, explaining that speed is your number-one priority with the sale. If you’re willing to price aggressively, for example, or offer certain concessions, the agent can use their local market expertise to inspire buyers to act fast. And if you’re willing to list as-is, you can forego the time spent haggling back-and-forth over repairs.
Selling your Houston home fast for fair market value
If you’re hoping to sell traditionally, by listing your home on the market, you need to have a good idea of how much it’s worth. A local agent who knows your area, and the ebbs and flows of the Houston housing market, can help you get an accurate sense of its fair market value. Before you list your home for sale, ask yourself — and your agent — these key questions:
- How should you price your listing? The most important part of any home listing is its asking price. Ask your agent for an opinion on the pricing sweet spot that can help your home sell fast — you don’t want it to linger on the market so long that you have to drop your price, like 26.8 percent of Houston homes did in February (per Redfin).
- Is it worth upgrading before you sell? Probably not, especially if your main concern is selling your house fast. Rather than spending time and money on a big renovation that will slow down the sale, try to focus on smaller, quicker projects, like boosting your home’s curb appeal.
- What should you fix before selling? Focus on the issues that might immediately turn off a buyer, such as peeling paint, cracked floorboards, leaky faucets and other visible problems. It’s equally important to know what not to fix to avoid wasting time and money prior to listing your home.
- Should you pay to stage your home? Whether you want to make the place look like the cover of a magazine or you just need some help decluttering and organizing, staging your home can help make it more appealing to buyers.
- What do you need to disclose to the buyer? You’ll have to fill out the Texas seller’s disclosure notice with all your knowledge about any defects in the home, ranging from flood damage to problems with the roof. And if it’s part of a homeowners association, you’ll also need to provide documents pertaining to the HOA’s finances and bylaws.
Closing day
Closing is the magic moment when you’ll officially transfer the property to the buyer and get the proceeds from your sale. However, you’re going to need to budget for a range of closing costs that will eat into your profits. One common expense you won’t have to worry about, though, is real estate transfer tax: This typical state tax doesn’t exist in the Lone Star State. Be ready to cover these costs, though:
- Agent commissions: Though the way Realtor commissions are paid are due to change soon, it will still likely represent the biggest chunk of cash that eats into your profit potential. At least until July 2024, sellers are typically responsible for paying both their own and their buyer’s agent fees, which usually total between 5 and 6 percent of the home’s final purchase price. On a median-priced Houston home, which was $335,000 in February according to Redfin data, 5 percent comes to $16,750.
- Title insurance: In Texas, sellers usually cover the cost of a title insurance policy for the owner. Rates will vary, but it shouldn’t cost more than a couple thousand dollars.
- Prorated property taxes: Property taxes must be paid up until the day ownership of the property is transferred. The same usually goes for HOA dues, if applicable.
- Attorney fees: You aren’t required to hire a real estate attorney to sell a home in Texas — but with so much money at stake, you should. You’ll pay their fee at closing, depending on how much time they spent on your transaction.
- Concessions: If you’ve agreed to any buyer requests for concessions — asking to cover the cost of a needed repair is a common one, for example — those funds will be paid at closing.
Next steps
Trying to sell a home fast can be stressful — especially in a huge market like Houston, where prices and buying activity can look quite different from one part of the city to another. If speed is your top priority, look into a cash-homebuying company. If you’d rather make more money than sell more quickly, find a local agent who can help maximize your profits.
FAQs
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A company that specializes in buying homes for cash can typically make you an offer within 24 hours and close the entire deal within just a few weeks. You’ll skip all the steps of listing the home, hosting open houses, negotiating with buyers and waiting for a lender to approve financing for a buyer — but you’re likely to earn less money than you would in a traditional sale.
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Yes. Plenty of real estate agents will help you focus on speed with your sale. While they won’t likely be able to close a deal as quickly as an iBuyer or cash-homebuying outfit can, they are your best bet at moving as fast as possible while still making as much money as possible on the sale.
