It’s time to sell your home, but you’re wondering how to initiate this process. Most people are only aware of one way to sell a property, but many other ways exist. Let’s break down the four most common ways to sell a home so you can see which one is right for you. 

1. Sell Through An Agent

Easily the most common way of selling a home, this involves finding a real estate agent and letting them handle everything. Great if you want to take a back seat and get someone else to deal with all the various elements of selling a house – including the annoying legal bits. 

Terrible if you want control over the selling process, as you have to rely on the agent. It’s also the only option on this list where you hand over a portion of your home’s sale price in commission fees, which isn’t great. 

2. Sell To A Cash Buyer

You can speed up the sale process by looking for cash home buyers instead of going to an estate agent. In this scenario, a buyer will literally give you a valuation and take your home off your hands within a few days. You won’t find a faster way to sell your home – and it’s also more convenient in the sense that it won’t matter how your home looks. You can avoid cleaning it and doing repairs, so that’s a huge positive if you’re in a rush. 

The downside is that cash buyers rarely pay the full market price, but that’s what you get for this additional convenience. You have to weigh up if it’s worth selling your home for a bit less in a few days or waiting months. At least you don’t pay commission fees here! 

3. Sell Privately On Your Own

Now, you can sell privately without using an agent or going to a cash buyer. This is known as For Sale By Owner, and it basically means you handle everything. A great choice if you want to be in control and do not care how long it takes to sell your house. You can put it on the market, pay a lawyer to ensure everything ticks the legal boxes, and then wait for a buyer. 

You get less exposure than if a real estate agent sold your home, though many platforms like Zillow now have an FSBO section for you to advertise your property on, so that helps. 

4. Sell Through An Auction

Your last option is to sell your house through an auction. It’s a process that ensures you have a concrete sale date, which some sellers might find incredibly useful. There’s also the slight possibility that a bidding war ensues and your home sells for way above its market value. 

Realistically, there’s probably a greater chance of it selling for less than the market value. Most people will avoid auctions because they’re just risky, but it’s there as an option if you want to explore it. 

Look through these four home-selling choices and see which one makes more sense for you. There’s no such thing as the “right” way to sell your home: it comes down to what you value the most. For quick sales, cash buyers are elite, for maximizing the amount of money you get, private selling makes the most sense, and for getting the most exposure and experiencing a hands-off sale, real estate agents are the best choice.