012–3 days
What it is actually worth
A comparative market analysis from someone who works the street, not an automated estimate trained on the whole country.
- CMA from a local broker
- Recent comparable sales
- A realistic list price
Guide · Selling
Selling a home in Austin, step by step.
Five stages, and the one thing most sellers learn too late: the highest number on the page is frequently not the best offer in the pile.
021–2 weeks
Fix what an inspector will find anyway
Roof, HVAC and foundation are where deals die. Finding them first turns a renegotiation into a disclosure.
- Pre-list inspection
- Roof assessment
- Staging and photography
03Days to weeks
The pre-market window is real now
Since March 2026 a listing can legitimately live on the brokerage site before it syndicates — but only ungated, because Zillow still bans registration-walled listings.
- Photography
- Pricing strategy
- Showing plan
041–7 days
The highest number is not always the best offer
Financing type, option period length, closing date and who pays what all move the real value of an offer more than the headline price does.
- Offer comparison
- Verified buyer financing
- Negotiated repairs
05Day of
Sign, fund, hand over the keys
Title clears, the buyer funds, you sign. Proceeds are wired the same day or the next.
- Photo ID
- Payoff statement
- Utilities scheduled to transfer
Reading offers
Price is one variable. Three others move the net more.
Two offers ten thousand apart are routinely worth the opposite of what the headline suggests once you read the terms.
Financing type
Cash closes fastest and cannot fail an appraisal. Conventional is next. FHA and VA carry property condition requirements that can force repairs.
Option period
A shorter option window is a shorter period in which the buyer can renegotiate or walk for any reason at all.
Closing date
Matching your next move is worth real money. A buyer who can flex on dates is often worth more than one offering slightly above.
What they ask you to pay
Closing cost contributions, home warranty, survey and title options all come off the top. The headline number is not the net.
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