How Quickly Can a House Sale Go Through?

When it comes to selling a home, the last thing we want is a long wait and a process fraught with delays. How quickly a house sale can go through is often something considered when putting a property on the market. We all want to find the ideal way to sell a house fast, but the market is not especially fast-moving. This sees many of us look for alternative ways to secure the fast sale and avoid the delays and chain breaks that can be common. In the UK, data for the speed a house sale can go through varies.

Zoopla tells us you could wait for six months for a house sale to go through; the Homeowners Alliance also tell a similar story of waits taking approximately half a year.

There are avenues to a quicker sale though, and that can depend on the property type you have, the location you are in and which route to sale you choose to take.

What are the best ways to sell a house quickly?

Depending on the urgency of your wish to sell, you could look at a variety of paths to take. Some take longer than others and some come with added fees and charges. It is always worth carefully assessing which option matches your needs at the time. Some processes are much slower than others but may deliver a better sales value. Others may be quicker and without fees but deliver a little less in terms of the offer received.

The common routes to sale are via:

• Traditional market
• Property auction
• Cash house buyers

How quickly can a house sale go through with an estate agent?

Most properties in the UK are sold this way and it makes for a market that is, at times, congested. This can mean that with so much competition, it becomes much harder to sell your house quickly. It’s a fully managed route to sale, where, for a fee, everything is taken care of. From photos to viewings to advertising and more, an estate agent will promote your property as best it can. However, with the risk of chain breaks, issues with surveying and affordability problems all potentially rearing their heads, you can wait anything from a few weeks to well over a year to sell your house. Looking at the information from Zoopla and the HOA we can say thar selling via an estate agent takes approximately six months. However, whether the market is hot or cold makes a huge difference.

Hot market: More buyers than sellers leading to quicker sales.

Cold market: Fewer buyers but more properties resulting in slower sales.

According to The Advisory, a site giving advice to home sellers, a property will take almost six months to sell when the market is cold, whereas if the market becomes hot, a house sale can go through in under four months.

How quickly does a house sale go through at auction?

A property auction can provide you with a route to a fast house sale and can see you be offered more for your home than you may have expected. It’s perhaps not quite as fast as you may have hoped though. At auction, once the hammer falls, the winning bidder must pay a deposit right away. They then have 28 days in which to pay the balance. If they do not, the sale falls through, the buyer loses their deposit and could even be charged for the losses accrued by the auction house and seller.

Similar to an estate agent, an auction house will list your property in their sales brochure and put it on their website to start building the interest, then come auction day, hopefully, people are keen on making an offer. And this is the potential problem, people may not be interested, and your property could be listed at auction after auction with nobody willing to submit a bid at all.

Auctions are held both in person and online with the online auctions now working where bids can be submitted over a period of time. When that deadline is reached, the winning bid gets the house. eBay for houses pretty much!

On average a sale at auction could take two-three months to complete. This is because the home will be advertised for approximately a month before it goes live and then have a further 28 days before the balance must be paid.

How quickly does a house sale go through with a cash house buyer?

There are a growing number of cash house buyers available at the moment, and, understandably, sellers may be cautious. Selling to a cash house buyer is the fastest route to sale but it can come with offers under the true value of the property. This is mitigated though by no fees. Where you’d have to pay for solicitors, estate agent fees, and any other associated costs, these are covered by the cash house buyer. A sale to a cash house buyer goes through fast. In fact, in the case of Bettermove, we can have a house sale go through in as little as seven days.

Most cash house buyers will offer to work around you though as sometimes, seven days is a little fast and you may require longer to organise things. With an estate agent, this isn’t possible and will see chain breaks that result in your sale being postponed or even cancelled altogether. Potentially at cost to you!

With no fees and speedy completion, a sale goes through quickly with cash house buyers. Just remember to check whether they are members of the NAPB (National Association of Property Buyers) and the Property Ombudsman before working with one. That way you’ll be safely looked after through the sales process.

Does the house type determine how quickly a house sale can go through?

If selling your house via the traditional market, then yes. If selling to a cash house buyer then no. Rightmove conducted some research that showed if selling via an estate agent, a detached house is likely to sell fastest and can see an offer accepted in less than 60 days. Flats, on the other hand, can see more than 80 days pass before an agreement to buy it is reached. Factor in the conveyancing though and these times soon increase further. Location plays a part too.

Does how quickly a house sale can go through change per location?

It can, although this again decides on who you sell to. A cash house buyer will make an offer on a property regardless of its location, condition or type and keep to its fast turnaround. Selling via an estate agent though will be different. Local factors need to be taken into account such as affordability, employment, availability and the status of the market. The report by Rightmove illustrated that sales in Scotland moved much faster than in Wales or the West Midlands for example.

How can you make a house sale go through more quickly?

Firstly, choose the route to sale you want and try it for a while before rushing back and forth changing how you plan to secure a sale. This could end up meaning the process takes a lot longer and costs you a lot more money.

Look at who you plan to work with, from estate agents to removal companies and see how they fit in with your plans. If looking at cash house buyers, assess whether their quick sale method aligns with your sale goals.

Ensure the home is marketed to its best potential. If at an auction or via an estate agent, you want to provide interested parties with excellent photos, plenty of information and opportunities for viewings.

Secondly, always respond should the estate agent have questions, or the solicitor need information. The sooner you respond to these, the sooner documents can be signed, money can be transferred, and sales can be completed.

Lastly, remember to understand that if selling via an estate agent, it isn’t necessarily fast, and it may not happen at all. So, remain realistic with timescales.

A house sale can go through as quickly as seven days if you sell to a company like Bettermove. With no expensive fees or shock charges, you sell your house for free, pocketing the full amount offered rather than losing a large portion to legal teams and estate agents. Why not speak to our property experts today to find out more?