Why Does It Take So Long to Sell a Home?

If you have ever bought or sold a home, then you know that homes often spend months on the market before finally being sold. It is just sort of the expectation that, unless you live in a very hot real estate market, that your home will likely be on the. Market for a few months or more. But does anyone ever talk about why it takes so long to sell a home. What is it about the process that slows it down? Here are three key reasons why it takes so long to sell a home.

Bidding Wars

The first reason why it can take so long to sell a home is when a bidding war takes place. When there is a lot of competition for a home two or more buyers can continue to submit higher and higher offers for the house. This leads to a long delay as both parties continue to raise their offer and the seller holds out to see if the other has another comeback. This can take weeks or months to finally resolve until an offer has been selected and it can finally move forward into closing stages.

Multiple Steps

Another reason why it takes so long to sell a home is because there are a lot of steps to the process. From listing to showings, choosing an offer, dealing with inspections, closing costs and meetings with lenders, there are a lot of moving pieces. Selling a home for cash is often faster and involves fewer closing costs. If you are looking to make a quick sale, then choosing a cash offer can save you precious weeks before an official closing. Otherwise, you can do nothing but live with the system that we must abide by.

Deals Falling Through

The final reason why it often takes a long time to sell a home is because it is common for real estate deals to fall through. If an issue comes up during an inspection and the buyer or lender backs out, an issue comes up with your buyer’s credit, or another issue comes up then a deal can fall apart, and you can be stuck back at square one. Choosing strong buyers and doing thorough inspections before selling can be a good way to prevent deals from falling through on you.

Selling a home takes a long time, but rarely are you told the reasons. Understanding these reasons can help you have a smoother sale. Understand these three reasons it takes a long time to sell a house to help your home sale move smoothly.

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