I Need to Sell My House Fast in Austin: What Are My Options?

Who else will buy your Austin house for cash?

There are other ways to get a cash offer for your home. Here are a few options to consider:

• iBuyers: A shorthand for “instant buyer,” iBuyers are companies that purchase properties as-is quickly and for cash, sometimes without even looking at the property in person. Sellers input information online and typically receive an initial offer from the iBuyer within a few minutes.
• Buy-and-hold investors: These are real estate investors who purchase properties and wait for them to appreciate in value. They will likely use the home as a rental property. This allows them to earn income from renters in addition to building equity through property appreciation.
• House flippers: House flippers typically purchase properties that are outdated or need significant repairs. Their goal is to quickly renovate the house for resale and turn a profit.

These cash buyers are looking for a certain type of home, so they may not be looking for a house like the one you are selling. iBuyers tend to focus on homes in the Sun Belt that are in good condition and within a specific price range. House flippers look for homes they can purchase for a deal, so their cash offer will likely be less than that of an iBuyer, but they can help get a troublesome property off your hands.

Cash buyers in Austin

Here are some examples of local cash home buyers in the Austin market right now:

• Austin All Cash Home Buyers: With 41 five-star reviews on Google, Austin All Cash Home Buyers has a positive track record. Once you reach out, the company will schedule a consultant to come see the property and give you a cash offer shortly thereafter. They are accredited by the BBB and have an A+ rating.
• Austin House Buyer: With 37 Google reviews averaging a 4.6-star rating, Austin House Buyer is an experienced cash buyer in Austin. The business is run by real estate investor Robert Grunnah, who has purchased over 1,200 homes since starting out in 2004. Austin House Buyer is BBB-accredited and touts an A+ rating.
• Hill Country House Buyers: A local, family-owned cash buyer business, Hill Country House Buyers will give you a fair-market-based offer within hours of an in-person viewing. You can choose your own closing date, which could be as few as seven days or longer if you need more time. The company is not currently registered with the Better Business Bureau and does not have any Google reviews, just testimonials on its website.
• Homemade: When you reach out to Homemade, they’ll typically get back to you within 30 minutes and make an offer in 24 hours. Founders Lauren and Lincoln have completed hundreds of successful flips and have a YouTube channel with over 275,000 subscribers. Homemade isn’t registered with the Better Business Bureau and lacks Google reviews.
• Teifke Real Estate: Teifke Real Estate purchases properties in any condition throughout all areas of Austin. The company provides fair market value cash offers and sellers can close in 10–15 days. Closing costs are paid by the seller but they’re typically less expensive for all-cash deals. The company does not appear to be accredited by the BBB but has a 4-star rating on Yelp based on 19 reviews.

Pros and cons of selling your Austin house for cash

As with anything, there are pros and cons to selling your home quickly for cash.

Option 2: Work with a top agent to sell fast in Austin

Not only do top agents help their clients make speedier sales, but the top 5% of agents also sell homes for 4.8% more than the average agent, according to HomeLight data. If you want to sell quickly, but you have a little more time to do it, working with a top agent in Austin could help you earn more from the transaction. Having some extra cash on hand gives you the freedom to pay down debt, hire movers, invest, or use it for something else you may need.

How fast are homes selling in Austin?

In 2023, home sales within the City of Austin declined 14.9% compared to a year earlier, according to the Austin Board of Realtors®. The typical home sold for $540,000, which is 8.2% less than in 2022.

According to the latest data from the St. Louis Fed, homes in the Austin metropolitan area spent a median of 74 days on the market in December 2023. Inventory was low, indicating a seller’s market, with just 3 months of supply during the same period.

“I think the best way to describe it is volatile — lots of ups, lots of downs,” says Ross Speed, a real estate agent in Austin. “So you have to be really dialed into the market because it can change rapidly.”

Fortunately, the job market is booming in Austin. The music-centric, small-town city has exploded into a tech hub. Austin was named one of the top tech cities in the world on Savill’s Top Tech Cities of 2023. Apple continues to build up its three million square foot campus in Austin, which is anticipated to open in 2025, and Google intends to move into its new 35-story office tower sometime this year (although the company has recently undergone multiple rounds of layoffs). Dell, IBM, and Samsung are other major tech employers in the city.

Jaymes Willoughby, a top Austin agent who has 40 years of experience, says the job growth has helped Austin to evolve from a cowtown capital city to the Silicon Valley of the Southwest.

“It has changed the dynamics here,” Willoughby says. “Not only do we have the University [of Texas] and other universities nearby, but the high-tech job market has drawn in an educated populace.”

Willoughby says these kinds of house hunters are very analytical. “When they make a decision, they pursue it [as] if it’s like a business within their personal lives.” This knowledge directly impacts his advice to sellers looking to prepare their homes for the market.

Here’s a snapshot of current housing market indicators in Austin as of December 2023:

*Does not include time for buyer to close the loan 

Data source(s): Austin Board of Realtors, FRED, Ice Mortgage Technology  

Understanding the current state of Austin’s real estate market equips you with valuable insights to prepare your home for a fast sale. A top-performing real estate agent in Austin can offer expert advice based on this information, enhancing your property’s appeal during the sales process.

7 strategies to sell a house fast in Austin

When selling any home, there are a few key strategies that will always help speed up the process. Things like making key repairs, updating strategic parts of the home, pricing the property competitively for the market, staging the home, and marketing the sale well can all impact how quickly the home will sell (and increase the final sale price).

An agent can give you advice on how to employ these strategies specifically for your property, and they can provide hyperlocal advice for your market.

Use these key tips to speed up the timeline for your home sale:

1. Set your price competitively

In a volatile market, it’s more important than ever to set the right list price. “You want to be priced correctly from the beginning,” advises Speed.

An experienced top agent will conduct a comparative market analysis (CMA) to determine a home’s value. This involves assessing its characteristics, size, location, age, and other specifics, comparing them against similar properties that have sold recently.

If you’re curious about your 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. Do the brunt work upfront

Oftentimes, sellers are eager to get their house on the market and will forgo essential renovations. This is one of the biggest mistakes a seller can make. Tausha Carlson, a top-selling Austin agent who has 850 transactions under her belt, says that “new listings get the most exposure, so make sure your house is in optimal shape when you put it on the market.”

3. Make the home stand apart

“Special homes are still selling,” says Speed, so it’s important to make your home stand out before putting it on the market. Add fresh paint where needed, update outdated trends in the home, and do a deep clean to make sure the home is in top condition.

He also recommends hiring a professional photography and videography team. According to the National Association of Realtors®’ 2023 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 41% of recent buyers kicked off their homebuying journey by looking online at properties for sale. That means a buyer’s first impression of your property will likely be formed based on the photos and videos in your listing. High-quality photos and videos provide buyers with an optimal online viewing experience, giving them a better idea of your home’s layout, condition, and features.

4. Showcase your outdoor area

“Austin buyers are asking for a great outdoor space,” according to Carlson. Spruce up your outdoor space and make it seem more functional by staging a seating area or including a cozy fire pit in the sale of your home.

5. Advertise your neighborhood’s walkability

Kristee Leonard, a top Austin agent who works with over 68% more single-family homes than average agents in her market, notes that “walkability is important for many buyers” and is a surprising trend local to the Austin community. This makes it important for sellers to highlight parks, coffee shops, and local restaurants in their neighborhoods.

6. Promote additional space for lodging

“People are buying huge lots and building a second unit for rent,” Carlson says. “Buyers want unrestricted land and more flexibility when buying a home.” Because Austin is a popular travel destination, buyers are interested in properties with enough space for a short-term rental unit, whether it be an extra room in the home or an accessory dwelling unit (ADU). If you are selling a home with ample land or square footage, leverage this.

7. Take advantage of market timing

Willoughby says the best time to sell quickly in Austin is at the beginning of April. “Another really good time block is April to mid-May because it’s after spring break but before school lets out,” he adds. If you identify as a “summer seller,” he says that listing your home in the spring can ensure closing on your preferred timeline.

Willoughby also points to a contingent of Austin homebuyers whom he calls “Resolutioners,” shoppers who have made a New Year’s goal of buying a home. These buyers typically start their search toward the beginning of the year. The resolutioner trend can be seen in an uptick in traffic at Austin real estate offices just after the holidays.

“A lot of sellers aren’t thinking, ‘I’m going to put my home on the market in January,’ but a lot of buyers are thinking, ‘Now is a good time to buy,’” Willoughby adds.

HomeLight’s Best Time to Sell Calculator uses housing market data for your area to pinpoint the best and worst months to sell your home.

Ready to sell your Austin home?

A top real estate agent in Austin can help you overcome any obstacle that comes your way during the selling process. Their organizational skills and marketing expertise can help you sell your Austin house fast.

If you need an even quicker sale, HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform provides cash offers for homes in almost any condition in Austin. If you don’t have the time or the means to prepare your home or move through the traditional listing process, you can skip the repairs and showings and close in as few as 10 days. Complete a short questionnaire and receive a no-obligation cash offer within 24 hours.

Header Image Source: (Jeremy Banks / Unsplash)