How Long Does It Take to Sell a Home in the Finger Lakes?

By Vicki Schamel

Has been a dedicated Realtor for over 30 years. She first entered real estate to balance work and raising her two young daughters, but it soon grew into a lifelong passion.

We just hit September, and we’re heading toward the fall, so I wanted to talk about something every seller asks me. How long does it take to sell a house? When you sell one home and buy another, you have to factor in a lot of days, and knowing what’s happening in your market helps you understand how long your sale might take.

Condition, location, and price drive it. I always tell people that three things influence the process of selling a home: your home’s condition, its location, and the price. Those are the levers that move your timeline more than anything else. When I go back and look at the data for our area, across Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, and Tompkins Counties, homes are taking about 55 days on average to go under contract. So plan on that when you’re pricing your home, getting it on the market, and working with a real estate agent.

Upgrades and staging shorten the wait. I’m also finding that a home that’s been upgraded a bit and staged makes a real difference in how quickly it moves. Improving your curb appeal, staging the rooms, rearranging furniture, and clearing out clutter all help. A lot of preparing your home for the market comes down to these small, deliberate steps before the first showing.

Professional photography reduces market time. Here’s something I think is really important: photography. Many agents now use professional photographers, and that often reduces how long a home spends on the market. Good photos get buyers through the door in the first place, so it’s worth doing them right.

Our latest hot sheet tells a story. I pulled our most recent numbers off what we call a hot sheet, and I found something interesting heading into fall. Over the last couple of days in our market, we had 19 price reductions. That tells me sellers are moving their price, usually down rather than up, because they’re realizing there’s competition out there and they want to get under contract. In that same period, we also had 14 new homes come on the market, so people are still providing inventory, along with 19 that just went pending. That snapshot: 19 reductions, 14 new, and 19 pending, is a good picture of what’s happening in our local market right now.

The close adds 45 to 60 days. Once a home goes under contract, it usually takes about 45 to 60 days to close. So think of it in two parts: roughly 55 days to get under contract, then another 45 to 60 to close it out. That’s not unusual, and it’s the same reality for buyers. Buyers need to understand they’ll wait about 45 to 60 days for closing too, and that’s after they’re preapproved, the home is appraised, and a lot of the inspections are done. It takes time and a whole team, so be patient, work your way through the system, and you’ll be a happy homeowner when it’s all done.

I know there are a lot of stats out there about the national average, but these are our local numbers, and they matter when you’re making a decision here. If you’re selling and transitioning out of the area, maybe to another state, I can help you there too, whether you’re figuring out timing or want to knowwhat your home is worth today.

If you’d like to talk about your home and what your timeline might look like, you know where to find me. Give me a call at 607-351-6933, email me at vickischamel@kw.com, or visit fingerlakesrealestatereports.com. I’d be happy to walk through it with you.