Selling a house in 2025 is complicated. With so many unique challenges to overcome—including pricing the property correctly, staging it to attract potential buyers, and negotiating the sale—it’s no wonder homeowners are stressed out and frustrated. And, everybody wants to sell their home for the most money possible (fair expectation, right?), but they also want a simple, fast, and cheap way to sell their house. The traditional methods of selling properties are time-consuming and, in many cases, expensive, so homeowners hunt for alternative options.
First, I want to encourage you. It’s not all doom and gloom. For budgeters who are looking to get into homeownership for the first time, this is great news. Jump to the end where we talk about cheap ways to sell your home—you can share it with those looking to sell, you know, for the future. Yes, selling your home doesn’t have to be expensive. It will require inspecting every corner of your house (who knows what strange surprises might be waiting for you), massive lawn decorations (you might want that. no? okay), and a stack of papers larger than you can imagine. However, it doesn’t have to cost as much as you might think. By carefully selecting a few of the options from this list you can, hopefully, help your house sell quicker and save some money while you’re at it. It’s a win-win.
Where should I sell my home, for the highest price, with the least amount of fees, in a place I trust? This is a discussion that has several different perspectives: For the person selling, they probably want a low number because they get to keep more of their money in their pocket. For the platform facilitating the purchase, they would benefit from the setup I have described above. That way, they get to keep as much possible percentage as they can for the total value of the transactions. They collect the 6% from the transaction, per usual. For the homeowner, however, they receive the value of the transaction minus the 6% that came from the purchase.
Understanding the Market in 2025
If you are a homeowner and interested in selling, it’s essential to stay informed about current real estate trends because they have a huge influence on selling prices. Interest rates, housing inventory, and buyer demand can change over time, making it easier (or more difficult) to sell your home quickly and for a nice profit. Is it a seller’s market—where demand from buyers exceeds the supply of homes, or is it a buyer’s market—where there are many more homes for sale than there are buyers?
The one factor that is perhaps deemed the most important when trying to sell your house for cheap is timing. Listing during the “peak” seasons that are known for higher home sales, such as spring or early summer, will likely lead to a quick sale and potential for bidding wars if other listings do not meet demand. Additionally, local selling trends can further impact the best time for a homeowner to put their listing on the market. Depending on the local real estate market’s climate, even 2-3 weeks can greatly increase (or decrease) the selling price and the time spent on the market.
Another “cheap” way to sell your home can be to consider the for sale by owner (FSBO) route and sell the property yourself, or try listing the home online for free. In this case, the agent’s commission can be eliminated altogether. However, the full agent commission rate must be paid directly to the buyer’s agent if the homeowner cannot negotiate a lower commission fee.
Preparing Your Home for Sale on a Budget
You can do many of the improvements yourself, and they don’t have to cost a ton of money. A can of paint to freshen up a room or two, a screwdriver to tighten that loose handle, and a few other minor repairs could make your home much more attractive to prospective buyers.
It’s those little “that’s been on my to-do list forever” types of repairs that people notice when they walk through your home.
If you’re the least bit “handy,” you can probably complete most minor home repairs in a couple of weekends.
How to Stage Your Home
Staging is the process of “prettifying” your home, room by room and the outside as well, so that prospective buyers can envision what the home will look like when someone lives there. It’s much easier to sell a home when people can see “the art of the possible.” Here are a few suggestions for staging your home:
- Maximize each room by setting it up so that the space communicates its purpose efficiently.
- Use “decorative storage” for the clutter that we all have lying around.
- “De-personalize” your home by getting rid of the kids’ drawings on the refrigerator.
- Improve your home’s “air quality” by baking cookies or throwing some cinnamon on a hot frying pan, just before prospective buyers come over for a walkthrough.
- Clean, clean, clean. The cleaner the home, the fewer the distractions from “seeing the possibilities.”
Step 9: Sprucing Up the Exterior of the House and the Yard
Next, make your home “appealing” by maximizing its “curb appeal.”
If you have a beautiful front yard or a really nice large refrigerator with an outdoor water purifier, make sure you exploit these features as you stage the home.
For example, if you have a really nice large fridge, make sure it’s completely clean and all magnets (and other decorative items) are removed.
If you have a really nice front yard, play it up! Make sure the sprinklers are running properly, and Noah has personally trimmed the hedges and power cleaned the driveway.”}
Exploring Low-Cost Selling Options
When considering the cheapest way to sell your house, homeowners often weigh the option of selling by owner (FSBO) against enlisting the help of a real estate agent. Selling FSBO allows homeowners to avoid agent commissions, which can range from 5% to 6% of the sale price. This method can be appealing for those who are knowledgeable about the market and willing to invest time in marketing their property. However, it also requires significant effort in terms of pricing, staging, and negotiating, which can be overwhelming for many.
On the other hand, using a real estate agent can simplify the selling process. Agents bring expertise in pricing, marketing, and negotiating, which can lead to a quicker sale and potentially a higher selling price. However, the cost of hiring an agent can be a deterrent for some sellers, especially if they are looking for cheap ways to sell their home. The trade-off here is between the convenience and expertise of an agent versus the potential savings of going it alone.
In recent years, online platforms have emerged as a cost-effective alternative for selling homes. These platforms often provide tools for listing properties, connecting with buyers, and managing transactions without the need for a traditional agent. This method can significantly reduce costs, while still offering a level of support and visibility that FSBO sellers might lack. However, sellers must still be prepared to handle negotiations and paperwork, which can be daunting.
Ultimately, the choice between FSBO, using an agent, or leveraging online platforms depends on individual circumstances, including budget, time, and comfort with the selling process. Each method has its pros and cons, and knowing these can help homeowners make an informed decision that aligns with their goals.
The Benefits of Cash Offers for Sale
A cash offer for sale implies that a prospective home buyer proposes to buy your house outright, without needing to secure some type of financing via a mortgage. Simply stated, they have the funds necessary to buy your house available to them. Cash offers are often attractive in a super-competitive real estate market because it can mean a faster, more secure sale for the seller.
- Faster Closing Times: One of the great aspects of accepting a cash offer for sale is far quicker closing times. The reality is that escrow on the sale of a house, when a third-party lender is involved, can be stressful and can take a long period of time—on the long end, escrow can drag on for some time between 50-70 days to close. In a cash sale, expect escrow to be as quick as one week to 7 days.
- Cheaper Sale (For You): Another great advantage of accepting a cash on offer are lower fees. More specifically, a cash offer for your home can be initially attractive because you stand to gain more back in possibility. First, since you’re not having to use a broker or private seller, your fees can be close to $0: depending on the regulations in your state, you may be able to forego certain insurance, escrow, or real estate attorney fees; and the same goes for title insurance, as well.
- Less Risk Involved: Expect to have far less risk involved in this real estate deal if a cash offer for sale is made to you. Simply stated, in deals where the buyer needs financing, a mortgage lender typically refuses to allow their investment capital to be used on a property they deem as uninsurable or not within acceptable underwriting guidelines: in other words, the home value does not appraise with a state licensed appraiser, fails inspection, or is in some way was found not to live up to the lender’s insurance standard attached to their investment capital/the terms of the mortgage loan.
Additional Tips for a Hassle-Free Sale
People trying to make a smooth transition often need to minimize stress. Here’s how you can do that during the selling process:
- Set Realistic Expectations: If you are hoping to sell your home harshly above what it is worth, you will quickly find yourself disappointed. Proper research (and possibly consultation with a real estate agent) will help you understand local markets and how much similar homes have sold for. This way, you can get a good idea as to how much you should sell your home for. The result is you won’t stress out over how long your home is listed for or over the fact that no one is making the offer you want.
- Use Technology: Essentially, everyone uses the internet for their home search. Virtual home tours and online listings make it one of the cheapest ways to sell a house. This method also saves people lots of time and increases the interest of individual homes. Even if you are choosing to do for sale by owner over flat fee MLS, you still get your property listed with a large, reputable company.
- Possibly hire an attorney: If you think the paperwork will be too much of a pain, you may also consider hiring a real estate attorney. A real estate attorney can help you review the legal jargon included in some of these documents. On top of that, an attorney will make sure you meet all the legal requirements of your documents.
The key points of understanding in the article are some of the best tips we have to offload your property. We hit on all aspects that most relate to the idea of selling your home in a quick and low-cost way.
A lot of homeowners don’t understand the full range of options available to them, leading to lost money and headaches for many home sellers. Our web guide takes a look at the cheapest way to sell your house and gets you going. You’ll hopefully sell your house cheaper in no time, which never hurts.
The methods that I discuss in this article point out some of the best ways that the common home seller doesn’t think of. Maybe you don’t want to sell your home at all and want to turn your home into a profitable income stream… those are definitely ways to avoid the cost of selling.