Best Ways to Sell Your House Fast for Cash in Houston

Buyers are flocking to Houston for the lower cost of living, amenities like shopping and dining, and nearby beaches, which is good if you’re looking to sell your house fast in Houston. Among the major metropolises, Houston’s housing costs are among the most affordable, drawing in buyers.

Whether you’ve inherited a house, want to put a divorce behind you, cash out your home’s equity, or relocate for work, your two best strategies if you need to sell your house fast are:

1) pursuing a cash offer, or

2) working with a top real estate agent.

In this guide, we’ll review each option to help you decide which makes the most sense for your home sale.

Looking to Sell Fast? A Top Agent Can Help

If you’re looking to sell fast, a top agent has the expertise in pricing, marketing, home prep, and negotiation to help make that happen, while helping clients earn more from their home sales than average agents.

Next Step: Find Agent

Get a cash offer with HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform for a fast sale

HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform connects you to the largest network of real estate investors in the U.S. We use the information you provide about your home plus local neighborhood data to get you a great cash offer, allowing you to close in as little as 10 days. Simple Sale saves time in other ways since clients can skip repairs, home prep, and showings while still receiving a strong offer from our network.

Sell Fast With an All-Cash Offer

HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform allows clients to sell quickly and easily and without the prep work or uncertainty of a traditional sale. Receive your offer within a week and close in as little as 10 days

Step 1: Request Offer

Who else will buy your house for cash?

Other types of cash buyers typically include:

• Investors: Purchase the house, fix it up and rent it
• Flippers: Purchase the house, fix it, and flip it for a profit
• iBuyers: Companies that buy houses in any condition directly from the owner. Typically they use algorithms to figure out their offers.
• Cash buyers: Some buyers choose to buy a house with cash instead of getting a mortgage, allowing them to avoid paying interest.

Who else makes cash offers in Houston?

Some of the cash buying companies in Houston include:

Express Homebuyers

This company gives same day cash offers on houses in any condition. They buy houses in Houston, throughout Texas, and nationally. Founded in 2003, the company has purchased more than 4,000 houses. You can choose your closing dates, don’t need to make any repairs, and the company pays closing costs. The company has been BBB accredited since 2004 and all of its locations have A+ ratings.

House Ca$hin

This Houston based company is set up as a platform for off market properties. The platform connects sellers who need to sell quickly with buyers who want to buy homes in any condition throughout Texas and the rest of the country. The company pays all closing costs and usually closes within 7 to 30 days. They’re not BBB accredited but do have mostly positive reviews. Customers agree that the company is easy to work with, its staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and closings are timely.

We Buy Houses

This well-known national company buys houses in any condition throughout Huston and nationally. The company was started in 1996 and each office is independently owned and operated. The company has helped more than 1 million homebuyers. Offers are made in as little as 24 to 48 hours. We Buy Houses has been BBB accredited since 2017. Clients have good things to say overall about the company including its timely offers and professionalism.

HomeVestors®/We Buy Ugly Houses®

Another well-known and national company, they buy ugly and pretty houses in the Houston area as well as throughout the country. The company pays all closing costs and has purchased more than 110,000 homes. It’s a subsidiary of HomeVestors® which was founded in 1996. The company isn’t BBB accredited. Google reviews are mixed with some customers enjoying hassle free and speedy closings and others complaining about delayed closings and lowered offers.

PPS Homebuyers

This company buys houses in Houston and its suburbs. It pays all of the closing costs and has been in business since 2017. It has an in-house title coordinator and specializes in providing individualized customer service and being able to take care of any title issues in-house. The company has been BBB accredited since 2020 and has an A+ rating. Customers give the company positive reviews based on their timely closings and positive customer service.

HomeGo

Founded in 2018 with an office in Houston, this company buys houses nationwide. In fact, it has purchased more than 30,000 houses. HomeGo makes offers on houses in varying conditions including ones that need extensive repairs. Offers factor in the repair costs. Sellers don’t have to pay any closing costs. The company has been BBB accredited since 2019 and has an A+ rating. Sellers find the staff comforting, knowledgeable, and easy to work with.

Pros and Cons of Selling to Cash Buyers in Houston

Some of the pros of selling your house fast in Houston to a cash buyer include:

• No repairs necessary
• No real estate agent fees
• You don’t need to worry about showings or open houses

Some of the cons of selling your Houston cash to a cash buyer include:

• You need to make sure the company is reputable
• The offer will be lower because the company needs to make a profit
• The transaction may feel emotionless which can be difficult when it comes to something you may be emotionally attached to like a house

Working with a top agent to sell your house fast in Houston

This option is for sellers who would like to sell faster than average, but who have a little more time to devote to a traditional sale vs. an instant cash offer. HomeLight data shows that not only do top agents sell their clients’ homes more quickly than average agents, but the top 5% of agents sell homes for up to 10% more than average agents.

If you still want to sell quickly but have a little more time than the cash offer route, this can be a great strategy to both sell quickly and maximize your home sale.

Understanding local market conditions

Market conditions are an important factor in how quickly or slowly homes generally sell in a given area. Your local real estate agent should know local market conditions, including when is a good time to sell, and how long homes typically take to sell.

In Harris County, where Houston is located, the median home price as of Q3 2022 is $270,261 and typically homes are on the market for 62 days in the metro Houston area as of February 2023. The February before, homes were only on the market for an average of 41. This is partially because higher interest rates are pricing more buyers out of the market.

However, the Houston area overall is still growing. It has gained 186,000 jobs and 300,000 residents since 2019, as buyers seek more affordable living and lower taxes.

Strategies to sell home fast in Houston

According to local Houston area real estate agent and single family home expert, Cindy Boutwell, “Consumers who are buying in Houston want houses with outdoor spaces and swimming pools. They also want to be in master planned communities that have amenities and highly rated school districts.”

Other things Houston buyers look for include:

• Ground floor owner’s suite
• Media room
• Home office
• Spacious and open layouts
• Multi-car garages
• Nearby amenities such as grocery stores and coffee shops

Highlighting any of these sought-after features can help sell your house fast in Houston.

When you put your home on the market in Houston, you’re not just competing against the house down the block, you’re competing against new construction, so making sure your home isn’t dated is important for a fast sale.

Boutwell points out that “Houses sell faster when they’re clean, organized, decluttered, and have some curb appeal.” You may not be able to afford to fix every repair that the home needs but you can add a planter to the front steps, paint the front door, and make sure the house is clean and full of light. Houses that look good and are priced right tend to sell the fastest.

Houses in highly rated school districts and desirable neighborhoods also often sell fast. Some buyers value city life and being able to walk or bike to boutiques and restaurants and other buyers prefer to enjoy suburban life and a bit more space.

A top agent like Boutwell adds value to selling your Houston home because they know the local market, they know what buyers are looking for, and they will price your house right the first time.

They also negotiate on your behalf and they also have access to marketing materials and social media experience to help promote your property with photos and videos to show off its best features.

Houses in warm climates like Houston benefit from having a pool; either a private pool in the backyard or access to a community pool. They also benefit from having indoor outdoor living spaces so you can enjoy the warm weather year round. Things like outdoor kitchens, pizza ovens, and shaded lounge areas are popular.

So, whether you’re working with a top agent or proceeding with a cash offer, you’ll be able to sell your house fast in Houston.

Header Image Source: (Vlad Busuioc / Unsplash)