Do you need to sell your Chicago home fast?
You are not alone.
Millions of Chicago homeowners have to sell their house fast and are looking for the best way to do it without losing money.
And we’re here to tell you that it is possible.
Fast home sale is something you can achieve in our service industry.
Chicago real estate market in 2025 is an unusual one. Interest rates are high and few homes for sale, so very fast is possible.
And here’s what this post covers…
- Why Fast Sales Are So Important Right Now
- Your 3 Main Home Selling Choices
- Top Preparation Steps For Speedy Home Sale
- Pricing To Sell Your Home Fast
- Effective Marketing That Speeds The Sale
- Selling With A Realtor Chicago
- Selling Chicago Home By Owner
- Selling Your Home To A Cash Buyer Chicago
- Conclusion
Why Fast Sales Are So Important Right Now
Chicago home sales have slowed due to high interest rates and overpricing. Some realtors even have 10 or more listings at once.
The median days on market for a Chicago home went up to 58 days as of July 2025.
Why is that the case?
There are a few factors.
- Mortgage rates are very high right now. Buyers are cautious and looking for a very good value for the money before they commit to a new home. And even then, they may not be able to qualify for a mortgage.
- Some homeowners who bought at the top of the market a few years ago can’t sell without a loss. As a reminder, according to recent data, existing home sales in 2024 hit their lowest level since 1995 at just 4.06 million transactions.
So many Chicago home sellers think that they need to put their houses on sale and wait for someone to come. That’s true to some extent, but there are faster ways.
Your 3 Main Home Selling Choices
Homeowners looking to sell their house fast, have 3 basic selling options:
- Traditional real estate agent
- Cash home buyers
- Sell by owner (FSBO)
Let’s quickly look at each of these options to determine which one might be best for you.
Traditional real estate agent
Real estate agents are the most common choice for home sellers. They list the property on the MLS (real estate market database) and handle showings, negotiations, and other paperwork.
The average time from listing to closing is 60-90 days with a realtor. Plus the agent takes a 5-6% commission on the final sales price.
Cash home buyers
The quickest option is selling your house for cash. Cash home buyers can close in 7-14 days on average. There are no repairs, showings, or contingencies. As the seller you can get your fair cash offer within 24 hours and move ahead of the schedule.
Sell by owner (FSBO)
FSBO stands for “for sale by owner.” That’s the option where a home seller chooses not to list the house with an agent. This usually means saving on commission but more work for the seller. Most FSBO home sales still use the MLS and the process is similar to traditional selling.
But due to less exposure to potential buyers, FSBO houses often take longer to sell and usually have a lower sales price.
Top Preparation Steps For Speedy Home Sale
That’s interesting to know but a lot of information.
Before we jump into which options to choose, let’s go over the basic preparation steps to sell your house quickly.
First, let’s take a quick look at 3 basic home preparation principles to sell your home quickly.
Condition
Condition is not as important as you may think when selling a home fast.
If you are working with the right buyer, many issues can be overlooked or negotiated.
Appearance
Presentation matters more when you are selling a house fast. Keep your home clean, decluttered, and painted in neutral colors.
Inspections
Inspections will be a part of the process when selling a home fast. Whether it’s a traditional buyer doing their own inspection or the house is in an as-is condition, buyers will be more cautious. Try to fix obvious and inexpensive problems in advance. And be ready to pay for inspections or have them waived when working with cash buyers.
Pricing To Sell Your Home Fast
That’s the biggest mistake that home sellers make: overpricing.
The market is slow right now and there are less buyers than before.
So do not use the traditional tactic of starting high to get multiple offers. List your house too high and you will get stuck and in a few months have to start from scratch.
A better way to price the house to sell it fast is to calculate the sales range. Find out your property’s sale range by looking at recently sold homes in your area.
You can go to Chicago assessor website and enter your address to find out when your home was last sold and for how much.
Then filter by recent sales only.
Also, you can use Our Chicago home value calculator to quickly find your home value.
Look at all the recently sold homes in your Chicago area and set a competitive price.
Effective Marketing That Speeds The Sale
The type of marketing you do will depend on the type of sale you have in mind.
Traditional marketing is too slow and includes professional photos, virtual tours, open houses, and so on. To speed up the sale, you can get rid of some of these things.
Sell with a Realtor Chicago
Realtors handle everything from home staging to advertising to closing.
While realtors have experience and knowledge about the area and market, their main focus is to get the property on MLS and then wait for an offer.
Some realtors also recommend paying for staging services and expensive renovations to increase home value before the sale.
Of course, there are ways to make your sale with an agent more effective.
Sell Chicago Home By Owner
Selling your home for sale by owner is a common way to sell quickly.
There are many FSBO sites to advertise and list your home.
These days many people are doing this method because they have had bad experiences working with realtors.
Sell Your Home To A Cash Buyer Chicago
Cash buyers are all over the Internet. They buy directly from the homeowner. The sale is closed quickly and the homeowner gets cash for the house.
Cash buyer Chicago can sell your house faster than a realtor or selling for sale by owner. They can also be used to sell your home quickly.
Conclusion
So, which option do you think will be best for you?
Every homeowner’s situation is different. The right selling strategy depends on your priorities.
Choose a traditional selling agent if:
- You are not in a rush.
- Your home is in great condition.
- You want to make sure to get every possible dollar for your home.
- You don’t mind showings.
Choose a cash buyer if:
- You need to sell within a few weeks.
- Your property needs repairs.
- You don’t want to deal with showings and hassles.
- You value certainty over getting top dollar.
