Most home sellers dream of a quick, stress-free process in which they list their house, get an offer, collect the cash and hand over the keys. If only it were that simple! In reality, selling a home involves many moving parts — some that you can control, and some that are out of your hands.
If you’re wondering how to sell your house amid 2025’s tricky market conditions, follow along with our step-by-step guide.
- Set a timeline for selling your home
At least two or three months before you plan to list, consider getting a pre-sale home inspection. This isn’t mandatory, but it can be useful, especially in an older home. For a few hundred dollars, you’ll get a detailed inspection report that identifies any major problems. This alerts you in advance to issues that buyers will likely flag when they do their own inspection later.
About a month before listing your house, start working on deep cleaning in preparation for taking listing photos. Keep clutter to a minimum, and consider moving excess items to a storage unit.
- Hire an agent who knows the market
Look up agents’ online profiles to learn how long they’ve been in the industry, how many sales they’ve closed and what professional designations they may have earned. Pay attention to how and where they market their listings, and how professional their listings look.
Some homeowners might be tempted to save on paying a commission and instead sell their home themselves, without an agent. This is known as “for sale by owner.” The amount sellers stand to save on that fee can be significant, usually 2.5% or 3% of the total sale price. On a $400,000 home sale, for example, 3% comes to $12,000.
Keep in mind: Real estate commissions are typically negotiable.
However, a listing agent does a lot to earn their fee. For example, they can expose your house to the broadest audience and negotiate on your behalf to garner the best offers possible. If you go it alone, you’ll have to personally manage prepping your home, marketing it, reviewing buyers’ offers and handling all the negotiations and closing details.
- Determine what to upgrade — and what not to
Before you spend money on costly upgrades, be sure the changes you make will have a high return on investment. It doesn’t make sense to install new granite countertops, for example, if you only stand to break even on them, or even lose money. Plus, these improvements may not be necessary, particularly if inventory levels are low in your area.
Updates to the kitchen and bathrooms often provide the highest return on investment. But inexpensive DIY projects can also go a long way: A fresh coat of neutral paint and spruced-up landscaping are low-cost ways to make a great first impression.
- Set a realistic price
No buyer wants to pay more than they have to, so it’s crucial to get the pricing right. Going too high can backfire, while underestimating a home’s value might leave money on the table. To price your home perfectly from the start, consult local real estate comps. This information about recently sold properties in your area gives you an idea of what comparable homes around you are selling for, thus helping you decide how much you might reasonably ask.
“A frequent mistake sellers make is pricing a home too high and then lowering it periodically,” says Grant Lopez, a Realtor at Keller Williams Heritage in Texas and the former chairman of the San Antonio Board of Realtors. “Some sellers think this practice will yield the highest return. But in reality, the opposite is often true: Homes that are priced too high will turn off potential buyers, who may not even consider looking at the property.”
In addition, homes with multiple price reductions may give buyers the impression there’s something wrong with it. So it’s best to price your home to attract the widest pool of buyers from the start.
- Include top-quality listing photos
This step will likely involve your agent hiring a photographer and registering the listing with the local MLS (multiple listing service). Here are some tips to get your home market-ready:
Take professional photos: With the ubiquity of online house-hunting these days, high-quality photos are critical. A pro photographer knows how to make rooms appear as attractive as possible, and the same goes for the property’s exterior and outdoor areas.
Focus on online appeal: You’ve probably heard of curb appeal, but professionals say online appeal is now even more important. In fact, 100% of homebuyers use the internet to search for a home, according to the National Association of Realtors, so online listings are crucial.
Stage it and keep it clean: Staging a home entails removing excess furniture, personal belongings and unsightly items and arranging rooms for optimal flow and purpose. If you’re in a slower market or selling a luxury home, investing in a professional stager could help you stand out. Prices will vary depending on your location and how much work needs to be done.
- Review and negotiate offers
When you do receive an offer, you can either accept it, reject it or make a counter-offer, in which you negotiate on terms and/or price. Counter-offers should be made in writing and provide a short time frame (ideally 48 hours or less) for the buyer to respond.
If you’re lucky enough to get multiple offers, you might be tempted to simply go with the highest bid. But look closely at other aspects of the offer, too, such as:
Form of payment (cash versus financing)
Type of financing
Down payment amount
Contingencies
Concession requests
Proposed closing date
Be mindful that if a buyer is relying on lender financing, the property will have to be appraised. If there’s any shortfall between the purchase price and appraised value, that gap will have to be made up somehow, or the deal could fall apart.
(Visit Bankrate online at bankrate.com.)
Bankrate.com/Tribune News Service