Sell my house fast in Pennsylvania

Eager for a swift sale of your Keystone State home? There’s good news and bad news. The encouraging news for potential sellers in the Pennsylvania housing market is that sale prices are continuing to increase. However, the sales pace is decelerating, signaling potential affordability challenges for purchasers. If you’re hoping to sell your house fast in Pennsylvania, here are crucial data points, careful considerations and actionable steps to take along the way.

How fast can you sell a home in Pennsylvania?

To better gauge how swiftly you can find a buyer for your property, it’s constructive to zoom in on the current market conditions. According to the most recent Redfin data, the state’s median sale price in December 2023 was a solid 6.5 percent higher than the year before. But the volume of homes sold, on the other hand, was down by more than 4 percent — meaning fewer homes sold, but those that did sold for more money.

How fast did they sell? In around a month: The median number of days on the market in December across Pennsylvania was 35, one day less than the previous year. That’s almost a week more than the nationwide median days-on-market figure, which is 29 days according to National Association of Realtors data.

Keep in mind, that’s the amount of time it takes for a listing to go to contract — it could be several more weeks, or longer, before the deal closes. But the days-on-market metric is likely to speed up as we head into spring and prime real estate season: Warm-weather months are typically considered the best time to sell your house, with a faster pace of activity.

Need to sell even faster?

If you can’t wait a month or more to sell your house, there are ways to accelerate the process. Consider selling to a local or national “we buy houses” company. These outfits — one of the biggest is literally named We Buy Houses — typically pay in cash and operate with astounding speed, often able to close the entire deal in just a week or two. They also typically buy houses “as-is,” no matter how rough the condition is — if your property is in significant disrepair, this might present an especially appealing option. You aren’t likely to get a top-dollar offer, as they do need to make a profit, but you’ll get your money fast and with minimal hassle.

Similarly, iBuyers move quickly and pay cash. They will also likely offer you less money than you’d get if you opted for a traditional sale. However, neither of the biggest players, Opendoor and Offerpad, operates in Pennsylvania.

Selling your home fast for fair market value

The best way to secure the highest price on your property is to go the conventional route, listing the home for sale with an experienced local real estate agent. This will take longer than selling to a cash-homebuyer, for sure, but you can accelerate the timeline a bit if you make it clear from the start that time is of the essence. A savvy agent will know how to market a property for maximum speed.

Here are some questions to consider if you’d rather get fair market value for your Pennsylvania home than accept a lower price in exchange for a faster sale.

How should you price your listing?

Your agent will have the local-market expertise to help you evaluate how much your home is worth, so you can set a competitive list price. They will assess how much comparable properties in your area sold for — and how long it took — to come up with a price that will make buyers sit up and take notice quickly.

Is it worth upgrading your home before you sell?

While undertaking a major project like a kitchen renovation may seem like a smart idea, such big renovations frequently fall short of recouping their complete costs upon resale. Small fixes, however, are typically worth doing — especially obviously visible issues that a potential buyer might be turned off by, like chipping paint or a leaking bathroom sink. If the home needs a lot of work, it may even be worth thinking about selling as-is: This can make the sale process move faster, as it means you won’t spend time with back-and-forth negotiation over repairs. Your agent can help you decide whether a particular issue is worth fixing or not.

Should you pay to stage your home?

First impressions are everything, and cluttered rooms with stacks of personal items on every surface can create the illusion of a smaller space for potential buyers. Conversely, if you’ve already moved out and the rooms are empty, that can also leave buyers feeling underwhelmed. A well-staged space can capture buyers’ attention and make them feel at home there, potentially leading to a higher (and faster) offer.

What must you disclose to the buyer?

Pennsylvania state law requires home sellers to complete a property disclosure statement, which provides information on any known defects that could impact the home’s value or safety. Issues such as past roof damage, leaks, pest infestations and more must be transparently communicated to potential buyers. Additionally, for properties under a homeowners association’s jurisdiction, be sure to pass along all relevant documents, including bylaws, meeting minutes from the past year, financial details and information about potential upcoming special assessments.

Closing day

Closing day is the final and most pivotal day on your home-selling timeline. It’s the day you get paid for the sale — but for a traditional transaction, it’s also when you must pay your closing costs, which encompass all the various expenses linked to finalizing the property sale.

As a seller, the most significant of these will be the commission fees for the real estate agents handling the sale. This usually comes to somewhere between 5 and 6 percent of the home’s sale price. Given Pennsylvania’s median sale price of $270,500, per Redfin, that comes to between $13,525 and $16,230. Here are some of the other common closing costs for Keystone State sellers:

• Transfer taxes: Like many states, Pennsylvania imposes a tax for transferring property ownership to a new owner. The state’s real estate transfer tax rate is 1 percent, but there’s often an additional tax at the local level. Typically, the cost is shared between the seller and the buyer.
• Attorney fees: Although you’re not required to hire a lawyer when selling a house in Pennsylvania, doing so is a wise move to ensure your interests are protected.
• Seller concessions: Your buyer may ask you to assist with some of their costs — for example, to cover the price of a needed repair. Such requests, known as concessions, are a standard part of the negotiation process, but you’re not obligated to agree.
• Title insurance: Here’s a silver lining: While sellers are responsible for the cost of title insurance in many states, in Pennsylvania, it’s customary for the buyer to bear this cost.
• Capital gains taxes: If you are lucky enough to be making a significant profit on your home sale — in the hundreds of thousands of dollars — you may be required to pay capital gains tax on the sale. Consult with a tax professional if this is the case.

FAQs

• What's the fastest way to sell my house in Pennsylvania?

  If speed is the most important thing to you as a home seller, look into a cash-homebuying company that operates in your area of Pennsylvania. This option will not garner as high a price as selling on the open market likely would, but it will be much, much faster. Many companies can close a deal in a week or two, compared to waiting about a month for a traditional sale to go into contract, then waiting on the buyer’s financing to be approved before you can close.
  

• Can a real estate agent help me sell my house fast?

  Yes, an experienced agent familiar with your local market can provide a competitive advantage. An agent’s expertise can help you price and market your home to attract more buyers, potentially leading to a faster sale. But if you’re really in a hurry, even the fastest agent-assisted sale won’t be as speedy as selling directly to a cash-homebuying company.