“How long will it take to sell my home?” ⏳🏡

You think that’s the question.

It usually shows up before anything is listed, when the idea of selling is still half-formed and living quietly in your browser history.

It’s the one you typed into Google at 12:03 a.m.,
halfway through a bag of chips,
scrolling Zillow like it’s your part-time job.

Completely normal.

When one of the biggest financial and emotional moves of your life is on the table, carbs + late-night research are basically standard issue.

But if we freeze-frame that moment, you’re not really chasing a number.
What you’re actually asking is:

👉 “What’s the process… so I know when my next chapter starts?”

We default to dates because it can feel like our calendars run our lives.
But selling a home doesn’t move in neat little calendar boxes.
It tends to move through a sequence of phases.

Once you see the phases, the timeline stops feeling like a mystery date and starts feeling like a path you can actually follow.

Here’s the high-level map most sellers are really moving through:

1) Decision to Sell — the quiet start

The whisper phase. Zillow tabs. “We’re just looking.”

What often shows up here:
A mix of this could be fun and are we really doing this?
More daydream than decision—but the idea has officially entered the chat.

2) Prep — the control phase

Paint. Repairs. Comps. Spreadsheets. Finally doing something.

What often shows up here:
Energy. Lists. Control.
For a lot of people, this is the part that feels safest:
“I can’t control the market, but I can control this.”

3) Go Live + Showings — exposure

Photos live. Strangers walking through. Feedback—or silence.

What often shows up here:
More vulnerability.
It can feel a bit like your life is on display, even when you know it’s “just a house.”

4) Offers + Negotiation — adrenaline

Now it’s real. Numbers. Consequences.

What often shows up here:
Adrenaline. Second-guessing.
The brain does the “Did we price too low? Too high? Say yes too fast?” dance—totally normal when real money + real change are on the line.

5) Inspection + Appraisal — the wobble zone

This is where a lot of people’s nervous systems spike.

What often shows up here:
More alerts, more what-ifs.
Even small notifications can feel louder than they are, simply because so much is riding on the outcome.

6) The Wait — the hidden phase

The invisible middle. Things are moving—it just doesn’t look like it.

What often shows up here:
Quiet… that the mind loves to fill.
This is where people start wondering, “Is no news good news… or bad?” even when everything is on track.

7) Closing Week — fatigue + relief

Almost done… but not yet.

What often shows up here:
End-of-marathon energy.
Exhaustion, nostalgia, and “I’m so ready” can all sit in the same day—and that’s okay.

ACTION STEP 🎬

The real takeaway

You’re not behind.
You’re not dramatic.
You’re human.

And if that bag of chips is gone by now, at least you didn’t just scroll yourself into more anxiety—you traded a random date on a calendar for a rough map of what’s ahead.

Most of the answers you would’ve found online are some version of:
“It depends…” + average days on market.
Useful for trivia. Not so useful for 12:03 a.m. peace of mind.

Kind of like taking a number at the deli and being told, “We’ll be with you… eventually.”

There’s more to each phase, sure.
But even seeing the sequence is enough to take a breath and think:

“Okay. This actually makes sense now.” 😎