How Long Does It Take To Buy a Home? (Video)

How Long Does It Take To Buy a Home? (Video Transcription)

Hi, everyone. My name is George Belleville. I’m a realtor in Maryland, and I’m making this video because I want to answer the question that I get a lot, which is how long does it take to buy a house? I’ll answer that in two parts.

Procedural Timeline:

Today’s Friday. If you were looking for houses right now, we could go out, look at a house today, make an offer, probably have it all under agreement and wrapped up by the end of the weekend, and you could be living in that house in 21 days. That’s about the fastest a lender can go to close a loan, of course, unless you’re paying cash.
In the current market climate, lenders have a little more capacity. The process is a bit longer and different than that.

Pre-Search Assessment:

Before you start looking for a house, we do a needs assessment. For first-time buyers, this process takes longer. We sit down and go over what you want in a house - community, commute, etc. Then we put them all in a search and do some searching. Usually, this searching process helps you realize what you want or need to modify in your search criteria.
Sometimes people are willing to drive farther or give up certain features to be closer to a specific area. This process takes time, especially if there are two people buying the house, as conversations about preferences and compromises are necessary.

Market Inventory Impact:

The inventory level of the market affects the duration of the process. Currently, we’re in a low inventory market, so there aren’t many houses to see, and there’s more competition. Sometimes offers on desired houses may not be accepted.
Conversely, in a buyer’s market, with excess inventory, buyers have more options and can make quicker decisions.

Standard Timeframe:

Typically, it takes about a week or two to start looking, a few times to look at houses, mull over options, and come to a firm resolution of what you want. Then it’s about 30 to 45 days until the actual closing.
So, the standard timeframe is roughly 30 to 45 days from starting the search until closing.

If you have any questions, please let us know; our contact information is below. We’d love to hear from you. Have a great day. Bye.