What's The Fastest Way To Sell A House? [2024 Update]

Trying to sell your house is tough enough as it is, but trying to sell it fast can seem almost impossible.

There are just so many things that can go wrong or cause delays. And delays can crop up whether you're selling with a local estate agent, an online agent, or an auction.

But thankfully, selling your house fast isn't impossible. In fact, there's one clear winner that guarantees you a very fast sale.

So what is the fastest way to sell your house?

Selling your home directly to a house-buying company is the fastest way to sell your house. It only takes 1-2 days to get a cash offer from them. If you accept it, they can buy your home within 2-3 weeks. On average, it takes nearly 10 times longer to sell your home with an estate agent.

Cash house buyers work very differently to other property companies. This enables them to "short circuit" the normal house buying process, and get the deal done very quickly for you.

First, let’s compare the 3 main ways to sell your house, and make some quick comparisons.

1. The Three Ways to Sell Your House (Main Differences)

There are three main ways to sell your house:

• You can sell with an estate agent,
• You can sell via property auction,
• Or you can sell directly to a house-buying company.

Genuine house-buying companies are the fastest way to sell, and also offer the greatest level of certainty.

Here are some real numbers that show why a house-buying company is the fastest way to sell:

• Selling via Estate Agent typically takes nearly 6 months according to Zoopla, and you only have a 51% chance of selling. (I'm always shocked by how low this success rate is, but unfortunately my personal experience has always mirrored this too. No wonder so many people dislike estate agents).
• Selling via Auction typically takes 8-10 weeks depending on the type of auction you choose. You'll have a 78% chance of selling, according to EIG auction data.
• Selling to a House-Buying Company can take as little as 2 weeks. If you accept their offer, you'll have a 100% chance of selling.

There are more differences too, and we'll cover them throughout this article.

So companies that buy your house offer the fastest and most certain way to sell, BUT... There are two main downsides:

In this article we'll compare house buying companies to your other options in more detail. We'll explain how they work, and help you explore whether or not they're the right option for you.

2. House buying companies: The fastest way to sell

Selling your house directly to a cash house buying company means being able to complete your sale in as little as 2-3 weeks.

This makes it a great option if you're repairing a broken chain, relocating, getting rid of an unwanted investment property, or simply looking for a fast and convenient way to sell. (Click here to read more about why people sell their house quickly).

But how does a house-buying company compare to the time it takes to sell through an estate agent, or by auction? 

2.1. House buying companies vs estate agents

How long does it take to sell through an estate agent?

According to data from Zoopla's "Time To Sell" study in 2022, on average it takes nearly 6 months to sell your home through an estate agent. (This is from putting your house on the market to getting your sale completed - which is when keys change hands).

Bear in mind this is only the average. This means it takes longer than about 6 months for half of home sellers, with many waiting over a year.

According to Zoopla, it takes the average homeowner nearly 6 months to sell their house...

This means it takes even longer than that for an unlucky half of home sellers.

Success rate when selling through estate agents

Unfortunately, even if you're extremely patient when selling with an estate agent there's still no guarantee of success.

According to market research by Jefferies, a financial services company, estate agents only succeed with about 51% of the properties they put to market. The rest are eventually withdrawn by the seller.

You can read more about their study on here on Sky News.

How do estate agents compare to house buying companies?

By comparison, genuine house buying companies can complete in as little as 2-3 weeks. There's no waiting to found a buyer either; they are your buyer. Essentially, you have a 100% chance of success.

Selling to a cash house buyer is a faster, and more reliable way to sell than selling with an estate agent. This comparison table shows you through the main points of difference.

Selling to House-Buying Company

Formal offer within 24-48 hours

Complete in as little as 14 days

No contracts - change your mind if you aren't happy

No viewings or chains

Sell your house as-is

Sell for approx 80-85% market value

Some disreputable companies

Selling with Estate Agent

Wait for viewings and offers

Delays with solicitors

Lengthy contracts - can't withdraw

Viewings at inconvenient times, many will be in chains

House should be at its best to impress viewers

Get the highest price possible

Estate agents are tightly regulated

So selling to the right property buying company is the best answer to "how to sell your house quickly". Unfortunately though, this speed and certainty comes at a cost.

You should expect to achieve a selling price of 80-85% of your property's value. Obviously you'll have no fees to pay and this somewhat cushions the reduction, but it's still significantly less than you'd get selling through an estate agent.

If you want to find out how much a house buying company can offer, don't risk looking for one on Google or other search engines. It's extremely difficult to pick the genuine companies out from all the rest.

We've done the hard work for you, and can refer you directly to a company we know and trust...

Take this free 60-second quiz to get started.

We'll help you work out if this is really the best option for you. And if it is, we'll introduce you directly to our #1 Leading House-Buying Company.

2.2. House buying companies vs auctions

For certain types of properties, I'm a big fan of selling by auction. They can be a great way to sell your home.

In fact, check out our article on 17 benefits of selling your house by auction for some of the key benefits.

However... They're still not as fast, or as certain, as selling directly to a house buying company.

How long does it take to sell through auction? 

When selling by action:

1. It takes a 2-4 weeks to get set up for the auction,
2. Then your house will be marketed for about 3-4 weeks.
3. After that, the auction will take place.
4. At the end of the auction the buyer pays a hefty deposit or reservation fee, and is committed to the purchase.
5. The winning bidder will now have 4-8 weeks to complete the purchase, depending on the type of auction you chose.

So in total, with auctions it takes about 6-8 weeks to get a binding sale, and another 4-8 weeks to complete that sale. It's much faster than the estate agency option, but slower than the 2-3 weeks a house buying company can offer.

Success rate when selling by auction

We've covered that estate agents only give you a 51% chance of selling. The success rate when selling by auction is higher.

We analysed monthly data from EIG, the industry standard for auction information. The data shows that around 78% of properties that go to auction sell successfully. Learn more about auction success rates at the link below.

Related: Do houses usually sell at auction?

Again, if you accept an offer from a genuine house buying company there's a 100% success rate. You've already found your buyer, so there's no risk of struggling to sell.

Cash house buyers vs property auctions

So selling to a house buying company offers greater speed and certainty than selling by auction. But again, it can come with a compromise on price.

In a previous article, we tried to answer whether houses sell for less at auction. We found that they can sell for as little as 70% of their market value, but can sell for as much as 10% more than market value. The average is about 85-90% of market value when selling by auction.

House buying companies will generally purchase for 80-85% of market value, so there is still a hit on the price.

There are still a range of benefits of selling to a house buying company though. This is especially true if if certainty, flexibility and convenience are important to you.

Selling to Home-Buying Company

Guaranteed sale

Guaranteed price

Flexible timeframes

No contracts or tie-ins

No costs or fees

No viewings or chains

Sell for approx 80-85% market value

Selling via Auction

78% chance of sale

Selling price unknown until auction day

Very little control over timeframes

Contracts commit you to the auction process

Auction fees and legal fees

Buyers will want viewings and surveys

Sell for approx 85-90% market value on average, potentially more though

Should you sell "problem properties" to a house buying company or via auction?

If you feel like a house buying company could be the right option for you, there's one big caveat I'd add.

Selling "problem properties" to a company can seem like a great idea because, as they all say, "we buy any house". In other words, they aren't going to be put off if your home has a serious issue.

HOWEVER, these companies will often ultimately sell your problem property at auction. Here's an example of how this would look. Assume we're talking about selling a property with subsidence: 

• Property would have been worth £200,000 without subsidence.
• With subsidence, it's worth about 20% less, meaning £160,000.
• When selling by auction, you should expect to achieve perhaps £150,000-£160,000.
• The house buying company knows this, so they need to buy at 20% less than THAT to make their profit.
• This means an offer from a company at around £120,000-£130,000.

The company will simply put the property into auction, and expect to sell it for £150,000-£160,000. This allows them to cover their costs and make a profit.

For you, it means taking a "double-whammy": You take a hit on the price because of the issue, then you take another hit by selling to a house buying company.

So if you want to sell your "problem property" rather than wait to fix any issues, auction is the way to go. You'll likely get 20% more than selling to a house buying company.

Here's a perfect example of a reader I helped do just that: She was planning to sell her house with subsidence to a house-buying company. We recommended selling by auction, and she ended up selling for £62,000 more than the home-buyer option.

Tip: If you're thinking of selling your "problem property" to a house-buying company, it could be worth reconsidering. Check out this case study about a reader we helped secure £62,000 more by selling at auction instead.

To get a free auction valuation from my #1 Leading Auction House (and to have all your auction questions answered by an expert I know and trust), hit the button below. It's free and there's no obligation. It's well worth reaching out - especially if your home suffers from some type of "property problem" as we've outlined in this section.

If you want to explore auctions yourself before reaching out to someone, start by checking out my article on finding the best property auction house for your sale.

3. How do house buying companies purchase so quickly?

Selling your house the traditional way is such a long and tiring process. But everyone has to go through it. So it seems crazy to think there could actually be a faster way out there.

So how do cash house buying companies do it, when no one else is? 

There are six main changes they've made to the house buying/selling process. These effectively allow them to "short circuit" the process, and buy in timeframes that the rest of the market can't compete with.

Related: House Buying Companies: The Ultimate Guide [My Honest Advice & Tips]

4. What are the downsides of selling to a cash house buying company?

We've covered that house buying companies offer an unmatched level of speed and ease when it comes to selling. Unfortunately there are two major downsides to consider.

4.1. House buying companies offer a reduced price

Although you don't have any fees to pay, a genuine house buying company will only be able to offer you around 80-85% of the market value for your home.

By buying for a discount and then trying to resell the property for its full value, they're able to cover their costs and make a profit.

Because of the heavily discounted price, this can make it a very expensive option and it isn't the right option for most sellers.

Genuine companies will offer a free valuation though, and there's no cost to get a valuation and receive an offer. So finding out what an offer looks like can be worthwhile.

If you still aren't sure that a house-buying company will work for you, then check out my article on 7 secrets to a faster house sale. Here, I share some other tips you might be able to use to speed up your sale.

4.2. Poor regulation and some dodgy companies

The other big drawback is how poorly-regulated the house-buying industry is. Bad practices are absolutely rife and there's very little oversight.

The National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) were formed in 2013 after a string of complaints against home-buying companies. But unfortunately, as outlined in paragraph 6c of their code of practice, they still allow the use of "option agreements" (also known as "purchase agreements"). These are complicated legal documents with serious implications, which some companies routinely tie customers into without them taking any legal advice.

That's not the only issue, but it's a prime example of how even the regulators have failed to impose strict enough requirements on companies.

Complaints against house buyers

Unfortunately, another factor is that because most customers don't write formal complaints after a bad experience, the NAPB's hands are largely tied when it comes to enforcement.

The same is true of the Property Ombudsman, who have a code of practice for property buying companies but are rarely made aware of infringements.

This shouldn't necessarily put you off using one though. There are a few simple steps you can take that'll help you avoid the "bad apples", and make sure you work with the genuine, reputable companies.

Check out my full article on the Top 5 "we buy any house" scams to learn more.

Get an offer from a genuine house buyer

If you want a quote from a house buying company, we're producing new articles soon that will walk you through how to find the best and most reputable house buying companies.

In the mean time, I can refer you to the company I trust. I've been around this industry a long time and know the most reputable players (and the ones who'll pay the highest prices).

5. Should you sell fast to a house buying company?

House-buying companies are the fastest and most certain way to sell your house. But should YOU use one? 

For most people, the answer should be "no". In today's property market, most people simply can't afford to take a 15-20% discount on their sale price.

But what if you can? 

If the property doesn't have a very large mortgage against it and you can afford to sell it for a discount, it can be a really good option. Especially if you feel that time and a convenient service is perhaps more valuable to you than getting the highest possible price for the property.

As we've covered, the speed and certainty it offers is unmatched. Some examples of types of homeowners who choose to sell their house quickly include: 

• Chain repair. If your sale has just fallen through and you don't want to lose your onward purchase, home buying companies can be a great option. You may even be able to get other parties in the chain to absorb some of the reduced price. For a great example, check out this excellent "chain repair" case study to read about the experience one of our readers had.
• Relocation/Emigration. If you have a deadline for a relocation then a drawn-out sale with an estate agent may not be an option.
• Separation/Divorce. Even though the price you'll get is lower, many in this position feel that it can be worth it to avoid a drawn-out separation.
• Inheritance. Selling directly to a house buying company can be a good way to sell an inherited property, and it can help settle an estate and find closure more quickly.
• Downsizing. If you want to move with as little stress as possible, the sheer convenience offered by home buying companies can make them a great fit to help with a downsizing move.

Ultimately, the answer depends on your priorities.

If you're thinking about selling to a home buying company then it's up to you to decide how you feel about the compromise you'll have to make on the price, versus how valuable the speed and certainty is to you.