How Long Does It Take to Sell a House in the East Bay, Start to Finish?

It depends, because the sale is a road with several stops, and the length of each stop is different for every home. The part most sellers think about is how long the home sits on the market. That is also the one part nobody can promise. Everything around it, the preparation before you list and the escrow after you accept an offer, is more predictable.

Tanja Odzak is a Top East Bay Realtor with eXp Realty, helping buyers and sellers in Oakland, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, Lafayette and across the East Bay. This guide walks the road in order, so you can see where your time goes.

This is the stretch sellers forget about, and it is where a good sale is made. It starts with a meeting, where you decide whether I am the right person to sell your home. Then we get the home ready.

• A stager visits. They tell you what would help the home show at its best.
• Inspections come next. In the East Bay, sellers customarily order and pay for them before listing, so we know what the home needs before buyers see it. I explain why in should you get inspections before you list.
• Photography and video. When the home is show-ready, I schedule a professional photographer and videographer.
• Marketing and disclosures. While that happens, I build the marketing and prepare the disclosures, so buyers can review them before they write an offer. There is more on that in what California sellers have to disclose.

How long this takes depends on the home. A home that needs little can move quickly. An older home, or one with deferred work, takes longer, and it is better to know that at the start than in the middle of a sale.

Only then do we go live on the Multiple Listing Service, the MLS. That is when agents start booking showings for their buyers. Then come the offers. Some homes set an offer date after a marketing window, and others take offers as they arrive. I recommend the approach that fits how your home is being received, not a rule for every home.

When you accept an offer, we open escrow.

Escrow is the stretch where the buyer's inspections, appraisal, and loan are completed, and the sale is finalized. With a loan, escrow is typically about thirty days, give or take. A cash purchase can be faster.

Inside that window, the purchase contract gives the buyer deadlines to complete each of those steps, and each deadline is its own way out for the buyer until it is removed. I explain them in contingencies and the dates that matter when you sell.

Because it depends on the time of year and on the market. When there are more buyers than homes, a good home can sell in days. When there are more homes than buyers, it takes longer. Those conditions change over time.

What you can control is how ready the home is the day it goes live, how it is priced, and how well it is marketed. Those three are the reason I put the work in before the listing, not after it.

No, and this surprises people. A home needs enough time in front of buyers to bring out the best offers. A sale that is fast because the price was low, or because the home was not shown to enough buyers, can cost you more than a few extra days would have.

When a home was inspected first and marketed properly, buyers are often more comfortable writing offers with fewer contingencies, and that is when a quick sale and a strong sale can be the same thing.

Some East Bay cities have steps that other cities do not, and they are easiest to handle before you list.

• Berkeley BESO. A Berkeley single-family home or duplex needs a Home Energy Score before it is listed. See what Berkeley sellers need to know about BESO.
• Sewer lateral. Across much of the East Bay, a sewer lateral rule applies at sale. The ordinance typically puts the responsibility on the seller, but who brings the lateral into compliance is negotiable.
• Oakland sidewalk. I encourage Oakland sellers to get a sidewalk bid early, so you know whether it already complies.
• Piedmont point-of-sale ordinances. Piedmont requires sellers to give the buyer and the city a property records search, a sidewalk inspection, and a Home Energy Score before closing. See selling your home in Piedmont.

I cover these in your first meeting, so none of them surprises you partway through.

1. Meet and plan. You decide if I am the right Realtor, and we set your timeline.
2. Prepare the home. Staging advice, inspections, and the repairs and disclosures that go with them.
3. Photograph and market. Professional photos and video, and the marketing built around them.
4. Go live on the MLS. Showings begin.
5. Review offers and accept one. We open escrow.
6. Escrow. Inspections, appraisal and loan, then closing.

You can see how this fits the rest of my approach on how I sell a home.

Start with your timeline. Tell me when you hope to be done, and we will work backward from there. A free call is the easiest first step, and I will build the road around your home and your plans. This is general information, not legal, tax, or lending advice.