Selling and Buying a House at the Same Time: How to Make It Work

Selling and buying a house at the same time can feel like a high-stakes juggling act, especially in today’s market, where high interest rates and steep prices have slowed sales to some of their lowest levels in three decades.

If you’re like most sellers, your worry isn’t just about finding a buyer; it’s about lining up the timing. What happens if your dream home hits the market before your current place sells? Or if your house sits for months, leaving you unable to move forward?

Fortunately, modern programs such as HomeLight’s Buy Before You Sell (BBYS) give homeowners more flexibility. These solutions allow you to unlock your equity, buy first, and sell later — a major shift from the stressful contingent offers of the past.

To understand the risks, benefits, and timing considerations of selling and buying at the same time, we spoke with Christine Marion, a Florida-based agent with more than 20 years of experience. She’s a HomeLight Buy Before You Sell Certified specialist and part of the top-performing Ryan Raymond team in Sarasota.

Yes, You Can Buy Before You Sell. Why Move Twice?

Through our Buy Before You Sell program, HomeLight can help you unlock a portion of your equity upfront to put toward your next home. You can then make a strong offer on your next home with no home sale contingency.

Buy Before You Sell

The challenge of selling and buying at the same time

If you have ever tried to sync up more than one major transaction — whether in business or family life — you know it’s rarely simple. Without the right planning or support, home sellers can run into some emotional or financial roadblocks:

• Double mortgage stress: If you buy first without selling, you could be on the hook for two payments.
• Contingent offer rejections: In competitive markets, sellers often won’t accept offers that depend on your home selling first.
• Moving twice: If your home sells before you’ve bought another, you may need to rent temporarily or store your belongings.

Marion says the emotional pressure can be just as tough as the financial side:

“The benefit of buying a house before selling your current home is often about peace of mind,” she explains. “HomeLight’s [BBYS] program alleviates the fear of not having a place to live after the sale of your home…This gives you the opportunity to move out after the purchase of your new home, when there is less pressure to sell. It removes the fear of not having a place to live.”

Marion adds that, in some cases, selling a staged, vacant home can even lead to a higher sale price for your old home.

Traditional approaches home sellers consider

Before modern solutions existed, most sellers had to choose between imperfect options:

• Make a contingent offer: Ask the seller of your next home to accept your offer, but only if your current home sells first. The drawback? In hot markets, contingencies are usually a dealbreaker.
• List first, then hope for timing alignment: Put your house on the market and delay making an offer until you have a buyer lined up. This can work, but if the perfect home comes along before yours sells, you risk missing out.
• Rent in between: Some sellers close on their sale, move into a rental, and then buy. It avoids double mortgages but means extra moving costs and disruption.
• Use a bridge loan: These short-term loans let you borrow against your current home to finance the next one.

“Bridge loans allow the seller to bridge the gap between buying their next home and selling their existing one,” Marion says. “They can use equity for a down payment and closing costs, or even to fund renovations that can help sell the old home for a higher price.”

The tradeoff is that bridge loans use your current home as collateral and come with interest and fees, so they’re best for those confident in a quick sale.

How Much Is Your Home Worth Now?

Home values have rapidly increased in recent years. How much is your current home worth now? Get a ballpark estimate from HomeLight’s free Home Value Estimator.

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Modern solutions that simplify the process

Today, sellers don’t have to choose between stress and risk. Innovative programs like HomeLight’s Buy Before You Sell allow you to tap into your equity upfront. That means you can:

• Make a strong, non-contingent offer on your new home.
• Move once, on your timeline.
• Prep and sell your old home after you’ve already settled in.

Marion says programs like this can be a game-changer:

“It helps you secure your dream home before someone else does, without having to sell your current home first. You might get a higher price for your home, or you might just want the peace of mind of knowing that you can move into your new home without the stress of selling your original one.”

Watch the short video below to see how HomeLight’s Buy Before You Sell works:

A proven, trusted solution

Top agents like Marion and loan officers throughout the U.S. have helped hundreds of home sellers buy before they sell.

“We not only had the advantage of moving into our new home before listing our old home, but also were able to sell for more than expected,” wrote Hunter W. and Angela B. of Sunland, California, who used HomeLight’s Buy Before You Sell program. Their old home sold for $159,000 over the asking price.