Getting ready to sell your Washington home? Here’s how long you can expect it to take — and some tips on how to speed things up (and still get a great price).
- In 2024, the average time it takes to sell a home in Washington — from listing through closing — is approximately 81 days. That’s 46 days to get an offer, plus the typical 35-day closing period.
- Key factors that impact Washington home sale timelines include local market conditions (e.g., buyer demand, job market, rising home values, etc.), time of year, and your property’s type and condition.
- Your agent’s listing strategy (pricing, marketing, networking, etc.) and the buyer’s financing situation — i.e., the amount of time it takes for them to secure loan approval — will also influence how long your sale ultimately takes.
Read on to learn more about how long it takes to sell a house in Washington and get some pro tips on how to speed up your sale, get better offers, and save thousands in the process.
| Editor’s Note: The data in this article may be slightly skewed because of COVID-19’s disruptive effect on real estate trends. See the table at the end of this article to compare data from before and after the pandemic and see how drastically trends were affected in your state. |
JUMP TO SECTION
- What’s the average time to sell a house in Washington?
- Best time to sell a house in Washington
- Best month to sell a house fast in Washington
- Best month to sell a house in Washington for price
- Tips to get your Washington home sold
- Next steps for Washington home sellers
- Additional resources for Washington home sellers
What’s the average time to sell a house in Washington?
The average time it takes to sell a house in Washington is 81 days — 46 days to get an offer and an additional 35 days to close. This is approximately 5.8% faster than the national average.
Keep in mind that these are annual averages and the numbers will vary by month and/or season.
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Best time to sell a house in Washington
In addition to the average days on market and list price data, we’ve compiled data on the BEST (and worst) times to sell your Washington house based on what’s most important to you:
- Fastest Time to Sell: When should you list your home if you’re looking to sell quickly?
- Highest Sale Price: What month should you list in to get the best possible price for your home?
Best month to sell a house fast in Washington
The best month to sell a house fast in Washington is May. The median time it takes for Washington homes listed in May to sell is 33 days, which is 13 days faster than the annual average.
» READ: How to sell your house fast
Best month to sell a house in Washington for price
The best month to sell a house in Washington in terms of sale price is July. The median sale price in July is $650,000, which is 2.0% — or $13,042 — more than the annual average.
Tips to get your Washington home sold
1. Set a competitive price
Everyone’s looking for a bargain, so one way to set yourself apart from other sellers is to price your home slightly lower than its "real" value. Keep in mind that initially pricing your home low doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll end up selling low. Ideally, your bargain price will attract multiple buyers, which will start a bidding war, and your home will close far above ask.
2. Tailor your home to local tastes
Whatever your personal tastes may be, when it comes to selling your home, you want to appeal to the largest possible number of people. This means staging your home in a way that appeals to contemporary tastes. Think neutral colors, clean lines, and uncluttered surfaces.
If your furniture is worn out or outdated, consider replacing it. And in a state like Washington, where entire months can be rainy and overcast, natural light matters more than ever. Remove all heavy window treatments like drapes and shutters, so your home is as bright and inviting as possible.
3. Make repairs
We all procrastinate on home repairs, but when you’re selling, you want your home to be in the best shape possible. This means freshening up your landscaping, re-shingling that bedraggled roof, and repainting those peeling shutters.
Of course, never lose sight of the fact that the point of making repairs is to boost the eventual sale price of your home. Consult with your agent before undertaking any serious repairs to make sure the money you spend on the repairs isn’t more than the money you’ll potentially make in the form of an increased sale price.
4. Presentation is key
Your home’s bright, polished, decluttered, and freshly painted. Now you have to make sure that buyers can see that. Nothing dampens potential interest like a listing with dim, low quality photos, or a vague, perfunctory listing description. Work with a professional real estate photographer to take high quality photos of your home, and consult your agent to craft the most appealing listing description possible.
5. Consider after hours showings
In this day and age, not everyone keeps a conventional schedule. For people who work weekends, or third shift, the traditional Sunday afternoon open house just doesn’t work. If you want to get the most eyeballs possible on your home, you might consider using a lockbox so your agent can show your property after hours or on weekdays. It only takes one qualified buyer to get your home sold, so why not maximize your chances of finding that buyer?
»FIND: Top Real Estate Agents in Washington
Next steps for Washington home sellers
If you’re looking to sell your home fast in Washington and get a great price, Clever can help.
Clever negotiates reduced rates with top-rated real estate agents throughout Washington. Get full service and support for a 1.5% listing fee ($3,000 minimum). You’ll still have to offer a buyer’s agent commission, per the standard rate in your area (typically 2.5-3%), but overall, you’ll still save a ton on standard commission fees.
» LEARN: About low-commission real estate agents
Importantly, home sellers who list with Clever get their first qualified offer in an average of 24.1 days* — that’s 22 days faster than the average time to offer in Washington.
Want to find a top local agent without overpaying on realtor fees? Clever negotiates 1.5% listing fees with top-rated realtors from name-brand conventional brokerages like Keller Williams, RE/MAX, and Berkshire Hathaway.
Get guaranteed full service for half the rate these agents typically charge. Schedule a free, no obligation consultation with a top local agent today!
*Average time to offer for Clever home sellers
