Five tricks to sell a home faster in Las Vegas

The Las Vegas housing market is shifting, and buyers are more in control than ever.

Over the past 100-plus days, Opendoor worked with hundreds of buyers in Las Vegas to gain insights about what they want, so homeowners can have data points to help them sell their homes in record time.

Here’s what the data suggest will help a home sell faster in Las Vegas:

1. Optimize open houses: Homebuyers value flexibility. Our data show that over the past 90 days, the peak time for home visits in Las Vegas was noon to 4 p.m. Thursday drew the least foot traffic from potential buyers; Saturday and Sunday drew the most.

2. Timing is everything: It’s no secret that the most popular time to sell a home is in the spring and summer. Nationally, 60 percent of homes trade hands between May and August. People who want to sell quickly, but have a little wiggle room, should consider putting their homes on the market in June. Opendoor saw the greatest amount of buyers for 2018 last June.

3. Price accurately: It may be tempting for home sellers to list their homes for an overly ambitious asking price. But the longer a house stays on the market, the more the home sellers’ move will be delayed and the more they’ll need to compromise on price. The average days on market for a home in Las Vegas is now 77, which would add nearly three months to a home seller’s timeline.

4. Cosmetic fixes are key: Don’t underestimate the power of a coat of paint. Opendoor sells hundreds of homes a month and sees stronger interest in homes with new paint, carpet and appliances. Investing in a deep clean, lawn care and fresh, neutral-colored paint are easy fixes to get a home up to the standard of today’s buyers. Hiring local tradespeople for painting and lawn care, or even a TaskRabbit to help declutter, can quickly boost a home’s sales appeal.

5. Know why buyers are moving: In 2018, the top reason Opendoor customers moved was because they were changing home size, either upsizing into a larger home or downsizing to something smaller. Less than 10 percent of home sellers were moving because of retirement or because they needed the cash equity in their home. Understanding where buyers’ motivations lie, and why they want to move, can help sellers better gauge their home’s marketability and target the right buyers.

Ana Usma is a portfolio manager at Opendoor. Usma is responsible for creating purchase offers for sellers who are interested in selling their single-family residence to Opendoor.