By admin1
You’re about to put on a cup of tea and curl up with a good book when you get a text from your real estate agent: “Buyer wants to see the house tomorrow. Does 1 p.m. work for you?” You stop mid-relaxation to vacuum, clear countertops, and ask the kids to please put away their toys.
During the appointment, you take the dog to the park and come back an hour later to find the buyer’s car still in the driveway. So you walk around the block again … and again, until the coast is clear. Exasperated, you wonder: “Phew, I don’t know how much longer I can do this. How many showings on average does it take to sell a house?”
How many showings on average to sell a house?
The number of showings required to sell your home will depend on factors such as the level of competition in the market (is there a surplus or lack of inventory?), whether the home is priced correctly, and whether you’ve taken measures to fix up and stage the home to impress.
You could show the house just once or a handful of times and receive multiple offers. Or, your home could be on the market for six months or more, leading to several dozen showings. However, real estate experts estimate that the typical house will be shown somewhere between 10 and 25 times.
Showing averages
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the typical U.S. home spent 33 days on the market in September 2025, five days longer than the same period last year.
With this figure in mind, if you schedule one to three showings per week, you’ll likely show your house four to 12 times before it goes under contract. If you’re in a hot market, you might field five to seven showings a week, resulting in over 20 showings before your listing goes from “active” to “pending.”
“It only takes one showing to sell a house,” says Brett Keyser, a HomeLight Elite Agent in Sarasota, Florida, who sells properties 59% faster than the typical agent in his market.
“However, if you are above 15 showings without an offer, I would advise digging into why buyers are not offering on the property, whether it’s price, condition, layout, etc.”
Anthony Navarro, a top agent in San Francisco, California, with 20 years of experience, says that while private showings tend to fall within the 10-25 range, there are other ways to increase foot traffic to your listing.
“In my market, I usually do two weekends of open houses, one broker’s tour, one twilight open house, and private showings in between. In total, for a starter home, we would do about 100 showings,” he explains.
Typical length of a showing
Most home showings last about 15 to 45 minutes, just enough for buyers to get a real feel for the place. During that time, they’re imagining their furniture in the rooms, checking the flow, and picturing themselves living there.
Some serious buyers might linger longer, measuring spaces, testing light switches, and peeking into closets. Showings can feel short or long depending on how curious the buyer is. Sellers should expect a mix, with some quick walkthroughs, while others are deep dives. Knowing this helps you stay ready and makes the whole showing process a bit less stressful.
Do you have to show your home?
When you’re selling a house while living in it, showings are one of the most inconvenient steps.
Sight-unseen offers from buyers have increased in recent years due to the development of virtual tours, video listings, and digital walkthroughs. However, this trend was more pronounced during the pandemic housing boom, when the competition was fierce, and travel was somewhat restricted.
Given the current market’s high home prices and elevated mortgage rates, buyers want to be sure they’re making a sound investment — and that means touring properties in person.
“Yes, we have more closings without the buyer seeing the home, but the reality is that they’d prefer to see it before they write an offer,” says Michelle Harrington, a top real estate agent based in Bellingham, Washington.
Is there any way to avoid showings?
You’re not alone in dreading the lack of privacy and added stress of showings, and there is an alternative.
In recent years, a group of tech companies called iBuyers has made it easier to sell your house almost completely online and without the need for showings. These firms use technology to value homes and provide near-instant offers on homes they’re willing to buy, typically those in good condition in areas with homogenous housing.
HomeLight offers iBuying services through Simple Sale. If you’d prefer not to market your home, you can request a no-obligation cash offer from this platform.
With Simple Sale, you can skip repairs, staging, and even showing your home. Fill out this quiz so we can learn more about what type of home you’re selling, how much work it needs, and how soon you want to sell.
Then, we’ll present you with an all-cash offer within 24 hours. If you accept the offer, you can close the sale in as little as 7 days. You can also avoid the dreaded double move by selecting a move-out date that fits your schedule, up to 30 days after closing. We provide cash offers for homes all over the country in almost any condition.
Below, you can hear about how Baohan Wu, a seller who used Simple Sale to sell his high-rise apartment, closed within three and a half weeks, and what he thought of the process overall.
