How to Sell Your Home: A Step-by-Step Guide
A complete walkthrough for selling your home — pricing with comps, prepping and marketing the listing, handling offers, and getting to a clean close.
Selling well comes down to preparation, pricing, and presentation. Work through these steps in order to attract strong offers and keep your sale on track.
- 1
Estimate your home's value
Use recent comparable sales, adjusted for your home's condition and features, to establish a defensible value range before you list.
- 2
Prepare the home
Tackle high-ROI fixes first — paint, deep cleaning, decluttering, and curb appeal — rather than expensive remodels with uncertain payback.
- 3
Set the right price
Combine your comps with current market conditions to land on a price that creates competition rather than excuses for buyers to look elsewhere.
- 4
Create a standout listing
Write MLS-ready copy that leads with your home's strongest, most specific selling points, and pair it with photos that show the home at its best.
- 5
Market across channels
Promote the listing where your most likely buyers are looking, adapting the message for each channel to maximize qualified interest.
- 6
Review and negotiate offers
Weigh each offer on price and terms — financing strength, timeline, and contingencies — not price alone.
- 7
Manage inspection and closing
Respond to inspection findings, keep every deadline visible, and work through closing documents to a clean handover.
Frequently asked
Should I sell before I buy?
It depends on your finances and local market. Selling first gives you certainty on proceeds; buying first avoids a gap in housing. Kai, our residential expert, can help you weigh the timing.
How do I avoid overpricing?
Anchor your price to recent comparable sales and current demand, and watch buyer interest in the first two weeks closely — it's the clearest signal that your price is right.
Keep reading
How to Buy Your First Home: A Step-by-Step Guide
Every step of buying your first home, in order — from setting a budget and getting pre-approved to making an offer and closing the deal.
How to Run a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)
Learn the exact process agents use to estimate a home's value: selecting comps, adjusting for differences, and arriving at a defensible price range.
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