12 expert tips to sell a home fast in Los Angeles

Selling a home fast while still earning as much money as possible is a delicate dance. Here are some expert tips to quicken the timeline for your LA home sale:

1. Set your price competitively

In any market, pricing correctly is key to generating interest in a property and bringing in competitive offers. It’s even more important when you’re trying to sell quickly but want to balance proceeds with speed. An experienced top agent will perform a comparative market analysis (CMA) to help you set the best price to sell a house fast in your Los Angeles market.

If you’re curious about your LA home’s current value, try HomeLight’s Home Value Estimator. While it shouldn’t dictate your final pricing strategy, an online home value estimate can give you a ballpark price range. You can get a preliminary estimate in less than two minutes.

2. Hire a professional photographer and videographer

As Jones explains above, top-quality photos of your listing are critical. According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, 97% of homebuyers use the Internet in their search for a home. That means LA buyers will likely first view the property via the photos and videos you post in a listing. High-quality pictures and videos give buyers the best view and perspective on a property when viewed online.

3. Enhance curb and walk-through appeal

A typical Los Angeles buyer wants a home in move-in condition. They like to have beautiful curb appeal and a nice kitchen layout. The more appealing the home is to the eye, the more interested potential buyers will be at showings.

Jones explains that making the appropriate obvious cosmetic repairs and fixes are important (deep cleaning the house, getting rid of the carpet, replacing faulty windows, a fresh coat of paint, etc.), but staging a home can really knock viewers’ socks off and attract multiple offers.

4. Make your home stand out

A good agent will invest in marketing your home for you, ensuring that the right buyers see it. This means not just listing it on the MLS, but paying for marketing, as well as combing through their database of buyers who are looking for homes just like yours. This ensures you don’t have to have dozens of open houses or viewings in order to sell your home.

5. Showcase your outdoor space

Since the pandemic, more homebuyers are looking for usable outdoor space. This means extending your living space outdoors can be extremely appealing. More Californians are transforming their outdoor area to include a full furniture set, smoker, and television to watch the Rams or the Lakers play on a beautiful Los Angeles night.

6. Market additional garage and storage space

Three-car garages are surprisingly popular with out-of-towners moving to Los Angeles. People from the East Coast and Midwest are used to having basements and ample closet storage space. So the extra garage space can provide storage or even just indoor space for guests’ cars.

7. Advertise proximity and walkability

Walkability is important for many Los Angeles buyers. This makes it important for sellers to highlight parks, coffee shops, and local restaurants in the neighborhood. Proximity to other services can also play a role in selling your home. Highlight if you’re near an airport for frequent travelers or close to big offices for those who are commuting to work. If you’re in a great LA area school district, point that out for families.

8. Point out your home’s special features

Having certain features also makes a house more appealing in Los Angeles. Vic Vartan Markarian, a Glendale, California agent with over 30 years of experience, explains that “Most buyers look for a good view, and buyers also look for a pool” in order to take advantage of the gorgeous weather that is part of the draw of California.

Another example of a desired feature, Vartan says more and more LA buyers are checking if the house has solar panels already installed to help cut down on high California electricity bills.

9. Show LA buyers bright floors and sunlight

Outdated flooring options — tile, laminate — can put buyers off a house, as can a lack of sunshine streaming into the house. Flooring will need to be replaced, and sunshine can be added with skylights or even just by removing any greenery that blocks the sun coming through the windows.

10. Promote space for extra lodging or a home office

If your property has an auxiliary dwelling unit (ADU), such as a mother-in-law cottage, emphasize this in your listing. Tell buyers if you have a home office or stage that extra room as an office. If you are selling a home with large square footage, leverage this.

11. Know what not to fix

If you’re looking for a fast sale, it can be helpful to understand what not to fix. An agent who understands the market and the buyers will know what repairs make sense and which ones may be a waste of your time and money.

In addition, a top agent will know how to present a property that may not be the most desirable. For example, flag lots are unappealing to the typical Los Angeles buyer. Flag lots are properties that have a long, slender strip of land extending from the street to the typically rectangular main part of the lot. These properties are usually squashed in around others, and it can feel like it. An experienced LA agent will know how to make even a flag lot as appealing as possible.

12. Take advantage of market timing

Along with the recommendations above, it can be helpful to know the level of market activity in your area during different times of the year. HomeLight’s Best Time to Sell Calculator uses housing market data for your area to show you the best and worst months to sell your home. See when is the best time to sell a house if you want to make the most money and which months are best to sell your house fast.

Whatever features your house has or doesn’t have, a good agent will be able to connect you with a buyer in Los Angeles and can often make it a fairly fast process.