How Long It Takes to Sell a House in St. Louis by Method
I am David Dodge, Senior Buyer at House Sold Easy. Michael Slane and I have bought 1,000+ houses here since 2016. On our cash path, we typically close in about two weeks when title is ready. You pick the date. Payment is usually released one to two business days after closing. Occupancy punch lists, probate, a missing signer, or a slow payoff can stretch that. Call 636-525-1566 if you want the date that fits your file.
This post compares methods as categories. It is not a market report. For the yes/no timing question, use how fast can a cash buyer close in Missouri?. For the three steps, use how it works. For the date itself, use can I pick my closing date?.
What we will say about our cash clock: and what we will not
When title is ready, a House Sold Easy purchase typically closes in about two weeks after you accept a written offer. That sentence has a condition in it. Title has to be ready. Ready means the closer can insure the sale: the people who must sign can sign, the payoffs are in writing, and there is no court step still blocking the deed.
You pick the date once that is true. Later is easier than earlier. End of a month, after a school break, after a parent moves, after a probate letter arrives, those are normal requests. Tomorrow is not, if the title file has not been opened.
Payment is usually released one to two business days after closing. That is the title company’s release, not a briefcase of cash at the table. What happens at a cash closing is the appointment.
We will not publish a St. Louis “average time to sell.” We will not quote MLS days-on-market. We will not quote a median price. Those figures change, they mix City and County and new construction and tear-downs, and they do not describe your house. If someone gives you a single number for the whole metro, ask which method and which title facts they used.
Cash purchase with a local buyer
This is our path. One walkthrough, about thirty minutes. A written as-is offer. A St. Louis title company. You pick the date when title is ready. No buyer’s lender. No appraisal contingency. No repair list you have to bid out.
The clock inside those two weeks is title work: search, payoff letters, any municipal or tax items the closer has to line up. If those come back clean, two weeks is typical. If they do not, the closer will say so.
We buy as-is. We typically cover our standard closing costs. There is no realtor commission on a sale to us. We buy within about 75 miles of St. Louis. Areas we serve. We buy houses.
A cash offer is usually a lower top line than a successful retail listing. Compare net and time, not just the headline price: cash offer vs listing.
Realtor listing
A listing is a marketing job plus a financed buyer’s job. Those are two clocks stacked together.
First the house has to be ready to show. Photos, access, and often repairs a buyer’s inspector will not ignore. Then the house has to find a buyer. Then that buyer has to inspect, negotiate credits, lock a loan, appraise, and clear underwriting. Any one of those steps can restart the others. The occupancy certificate a municipality wants can sit in the middle of that stack and add a punch-list wait.
I will not turn that stack into one number of days. Some listings are short. Some are not. The point is the category: the clock is not “the market.” The clock is inspection, occupancy, financing, appraisal, and underwriting, in whatever order your contract wrote them.
If the house would show well and you can wait, a listing can net more after commission. We will say so when that is what we see. We will not pretend every house should sell to us.
For sale by owner
FSBO still has to find a buyer. Then that buyer, if financed, still has the same loan clock as a listed buyer: inspection, appraisal, underwriting, occupancy if the city requires it. You skipped the listing agent. You did not skip the lender.
If the buyer is another cash buyer, you are back in a title clock, not a loan clock. The risk is finding that buyer and knowing whether the cash is real. We are one such buyer. We are not the only one. Ask for proof of funds and a title company you recognize.
iBuyer
Occupancy can add a punch-list wait on any path
St. Louis City and St. Louis County are two governments. The City runs Housing Conservation inspections. Unincorporated County has its own occupancy desk. Municipalities inside the County run their own programs or contract with the County. Details and official links: St. Louis occupancy and inspection permits and selling in St. Louis City vs County.
A listed financed buyer may not fund until a certificate exists. A cash buyer can often still close while an occupancy file is open. Who must clear the punch list is a contract question. That wait is real either way if someone has to hire a contractor before a lender will sign off. It is not a days-on-market statistic. It is a city-hall calendar.
Probate, divorce, reverse mortgages, and tax liens change the clock
Title is ready when the people who must sign can sign and the payoffs are known. Several common files add steps.
Probate or an inherited house. Someone has to have authority. A personal representative, a small-estate path, or a deed that already passed outside probate. We do not require a cleanout. We cannot close without the right signer. Can I sell a house in probate in Missouri?, probate / inherited, and selling an inherited house with siblings.
Divorce. Both people with authority usually need to sign. A decree that does not match the deed will stop a closer. Divorce and selling a house after divorce.
Reverse-mortgage payoff. The servicer still has to issue a written payoff. Those letters can take longer than a forward-mortgage quote. Selling a house with a reverse mortgage.
Tax liens and delinquent real estate taxes. Title can often pay them from proceeds when equity allows. A scheduled tax sale is a different calendar. We do not stop a tax sale. Selling a house with unpaid property taxes, sell a house with liens.
A regular mortgage payoff. The loan is paid at closing from proceeds. A shortage has to be covered or the sale cannot close as written. What happens to your mortgage when you sell.
None of those files has a published “average extra week” I am willing to print. Tell us what you already know on the first call.
How to use the two-week figure without fooling yourself
If title is simple, you want to move, and you accept a written cash offer, plan on about two weeks to the signing appointment and one to two business days after that for funds. If you need thirty or sixty days, say so. If a foreclosure sale date is already on the calendar, say that the same day, foreclosure is a different clock than this post.
If you list, plan for the method, not for our two weeks. Prep, showings, a buyer’s loan, and occupancy are not a cash file.
We have been doing this since 2016. Google shows 4.7 from 65+ reviews. The office is 1750 S Brentwood Blvd, Suite 503, Brentwood, MO 63144. Ask for David or Mike.
Common questions
Is two weeks a guarantee?
No. It is typical when title is ready. A missing heir, a late payoff, or a court step can add time.
Can I pick a later date?
Yes. Can I pick my closing date?. Later is easier than earlier.
When do I get paid?
Usually one to two business days after closing, once the title company releases funds.
Will a listing close in two weeks?
Not as a category. A financed buyer still has inspection, appraisal, and underwriting. Occupancy can add a punch list.
Do you close in St. Louis City and the County on the same clock?
Same cash method. Different occupancy and collector offices. See City vs County.
Who should I call?
636-525-1566. David Dodge or Michael Slane.