“How long will it take?” is usually the second question a Florida seller asks, right after “what is it worth?” It matters because the answer drives everything else: when you can buy your next home, how many more mortgage payments you make, and whether you sign a lease in the meantime. The good news in late 2026 is that the statewide numbers are moving in sellers’ favor. The less comfortable news is that the typical timeline is still about three months from the day the listing goes live to the day you get paid, and some counties run well beyond that.
The short version: Florida single-family homes went under contract in a median 47 days in the third quarter of 2026 and took a median 88 days from listing to closing, according to Florida Realtors. Condos and townhouses took longer: 72 days to contract and 111 days to close. Add two to four weeks of preparation before the listing goes live, and most sellers should plan on roughly three to four months from “let’s sell” to the closing table.
Not sure where your home lands? Request a hand-prepared home value review from a Momentum agent. Pricing is the single biggest lever on how long a sale takes.
The statewide numbers: Q3 2026
Florida Realtors publishes two timing measures. Median time to contract counts the days from the listing date to the date a contract is signed. Median time to sale counts the days from the listing date to the closing date, so it includes the inspection, appraisal and financing period. Here is the third quarter of 2026 (July through September) against the same quarter of 2025, from the quarterly market detail released October 16, 2026:
| Florida, Q3 | Single-family 2025 | Single-family 2026 | Condo/townhouse 2025 | Condo/townhouse 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median time to contract | 52 days | 47 days | 75 days | 72 days |
| Median time to sale (list to close) | 92 days | 88 days | 113 days | 111 days |
| Months’ supply of inventory | 5.1 | 4.4 | 9.1 | 7.7 |
| Median % of original list price received | 94.9% | 96.0% | 92.0% | 93.3% |
| Closed sales | 65,776 | 65,904 | 21,992 | 22,664 |
| Median sale price | $410,000 | $420,000 | $295,000 | $295,000 |
Source: Florida Realtors, 3Q 2026 Florida single-family and condo-townhouse market detail (released October 16, 2026). Figures are statewide medians.
Two things stand out. First, single-family homes reached a contract about five days faster than a year earlier, and the typical seller kept 96% of the original asking price, up from 94.9%. Fewer homes were competing for buyers (active listings fell 9.8% to 95,799), and that shows up as speed. Second, the gap between “under contract” and “closed” is about six weeks for both property types. That middle stretch is mostly the buyer’s inspection, appraisal, insurance and loan approval, and it barely changes with market conditions.
Price range changes the clock
The same report breaks single-family time to contract down by sale price. Mid-priced homes moved fastest in Q3 2026, while the lowest and highest bands were slower:
| Sale price (single-family) | Median time to contract, Q3 2026 |
|---|---|
| Under $200,000 | 38 days |
| $200,000 to $299,999 | 51 days |
| $300,000 to $399,999 | 47 days |
| $400,000 to $499,999 | 44 days |
| $500,000 to $599,999 | 45 days |
| $600,000 to $699,999 | 43 days |
| $700,000 to $799,999 | 41 days |
| $800,000 to $899,999 | 44 days |
| $900,000 to $999,999 | 46 days |
| $1,000,000 or more | 59 days |
Source: Florida Realtors, 3Q 2026 Florida single-family market detail (October 16, 2026).
The $200,000 to $299,999 band is worth a note. Florida Realtors reported that its time to contract held flat at 51 days while most other bands got faster. That is the price range where buyers are most sensitive to the 30-year rate, which Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey put at 7.24% on October 29, 2026, and to insurance and HOA costs that can push a payment past the approval line. Above $1 million, the pool of buyers is smaller, so a typical home takes about two weeks longer to find one, even though sales in that band rose 14.9% from a year earlier.
How long it takes in your county
A statewide median hides big differences. The table below combines two county-level measures. The first column is Realtor.com’s median days on market for active listings in September 2026, which measures how long the homes still for sale have been sitting, from our Florida Housing Tracker (October 19, 2026 release). The other columns come from our county seasonality study of recorded Florida MLS closings: the average days on market for homes that closed in November, and the county’s fastest closing month, averaged over roughly 20 years of data. They answer different questions, so read across rather than comparing one column with another.
| County | Active listings, median days on market (Sept. 2026) | Listings with a price cut (Sept. 2026) | Sold homes, avg. days on market for November closings | Fastest closing month (avg. days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duval | 61 | 29.2% | 45 | May (42) |
| St. Johns | 72 | 27.9% | 64 | June (58) |
| Clay | 64 | 30.4% | 53 | July (45) |
| Orange | 73 | 28.8% | 53 | April (46) |
| Seminole | 65 | 33.1% | 46 | November (46) |
| Hillsborough | 71 | 32.8% | 60 | March (51) |
| Pinellas | 84 | 29.1% | 51 | December (50) |
| Pasco | 74 | 33.0% | 64 | December (48) |
| Polk | 80 | 27.3% | 64 | September (55) |
| Brevard | 68 | 29.0% | 43 | July (42) |
| Volusia | 78 | 27.4% | 82 | November (82) |
| Lee | 91 | 20.5% | 76 | April (53) |
| Collier | 101 | 16.2% | 48 | December (47) |
| Sarasota | 93 | 22.4% | 64 | January (53) |
| Manatee | 85 | 26.7% | 64 | March (61) |
| Palm Beach | 79 | 21.1% | 54 | June (53) |
| Broward | 86 | 20.1% | 45 | June (42) |
| Miami-Dade | 87 | 16.5% | 53 | May (51) |
Sources: Realtor.com Research county data and Zillow Research price-cut share through September 2026, via the Momentum Florida Housing Tracker (October 19, 2026); Momentum county seasonality study of recorded Florida MLS closings, monthly averages over 14 to 25 years ending 2025 depending on county (as of August 24, 2026). MLS-derived figures are aggregates, deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Across all 67 counties, the median active-listing days on market was 84 in September 2026.
The pattern is consistent. Northeast Florida (Duval, Clay) and Seminole County sit at the fast end. Southwest Florida (Lee, Collier, Sarasota) and the large South Florida counties have the oldest active inventory, which tells you how long an overpriced listing can sit there. Yet the sold-home column shows that homes that actually closed in Broward, Collier or Miami-Dade in November typically went under contract in under two months. The difference between the two columns is mostly the homes priced above what buyers will pay. If you are in Duval County, our Jacksonville time-to-sell analysis goes deeper, and the county pages such as best time to sell in Duval County show every month.
The full timeline, step by step
Here is how a typical financed sale of a single-family home lays out in Florida right now. Every sale is different, so treat these as planning ranges rather than promises.
- Preparation: 1 to 4 weeks. Pricing review, repairs, cleaning, photos and paperwork. In Florida, having a recent four-point inspection, a wind mitigation report and the roof age ready helps buyers get insurance quotes quickly, which keeps the contract on track later.
- On the market to a signed contract: a median 47 days statewide. Well-priced homes in fast counties often go under contract in the first two to three weeks. Overpriced homes are the ones that stretch this step to three months or more.
- Inspection period: usually 10 to 15 days. On the widely used Florida Realtors/Florida Bar “AS IS” contract, the inspection period is 15 days after the effective date unless the parties write in another number. Repair requests and renegotiation happen here.
- Appraisal, insurance and loan approval: about 3 to 5 weeks. The same contract form defaults to a 30-day loan approval period if left blank. Insurance binding can slow things in coastal areas and on older roofs.
- Closing: 30 to 45 days after the contract for most financed buyers. The statewide data puts the median gap between contract and closing at roughly six weeks. Cash buyers can often close in two to three weeks because there is no lender or appraisal requirement, though a title search and any HOA estoppel letter still take time.
Condos add steps. Buyers need the association’s documents, and under Florida law most resale condo buyers get a short window to cancel after receiving them. Under Florida’s milestone inspection and structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) requirements, lenders and buyers also ask for those reports. If you own a condo, our guide to the 15% condo reserve rule coming January 2027 explains why some buyers’ loans will hinge on the building’s budget.
Is November a slow time to sell?
Less than most people think. In the county seasonality data above, November closings took about as long as the county’s fastest month in Seminole, Volusia, Pinellas and Collier, and only a week or two longer in Duval, Brevard and Broward. Our best time to sell in Florida study shows November closings pricing at or slightly above the annual median across every region we track. The weeks that really slow down are the holiday stretch from mid-December into early January, when fewer buyers tour. If your home can be live in early to mid-November, you are listing into a normal market with less competition than spring. For a broader read on conditions, see our November post, is it a good time to sell a house in Florida.
What slows a Florida sale down
- Price above recent comparable sales. Our review of 2026 Florida MLS listings that expired or were withdrawn (through August 27, 2026) found the typical one sat about five to six months, and in most large counties 40% to 60% never recorded a price cut. Waiting to adjust is the most common reason a sale takes twice the median.
- Insurance problems. A roof near the end of its life, older electrical panels or missing wind mitigation features can make a home expensive or slow to insure. Buyers often learn this during the inspection period, and some walk away.
- Appraisal gaps. If the appraisal comes in below the contract price, the deal pauses while buyer and seller renegotiate.
- Condo and HOA paperwork. Estoppel letters, association approvals and document review periods add days, and buildings with pending special assessments or thin reserves can lose financed buyers.
- Title issues. Unreleased liens, probate or a missing signature from a co-owner can delay closing by weeks. Ask your title company to run the search early.
What waiting actually costs
Every month on the market costs money. Add up the mortgage payment, property taxes, insurance, HOA or CDD fees, utilities and upkeep. For a $400,000 Florida home, that total can easily be $2,500 to $3,500 a month. A sale that takes 60 days longer than the median costs roughly $5,000 to $7,000 in carrying costs before counting any price reduction. Our Florida home equity checker now includes a time-to-sell panel that does this math for your own numbers, next to an estimate of what you would clear after selling costs. The Florida seller net sheet calculator and our breakdown of the cost to sell a house in Florida cover the line items at closing: doc stamps of 70 cents per $100 of sale price (60 cents in Miami-Dade for single-family homes), title insurance, prorated property taxes and agent compensation, which is always negotiable.
How to sell faster without giving the house away
- Price to the last 90 days of sales, not to the peak. Homes priced right from day one are the ones that beat the 47-day median. Price reductions in week six recover less than a correct price in week one.
- Prepare the insurance file. A four-point inspection, wind mitigation report, roof permit history and recent utility costs answer the questions that otherwise surface halfway through the contract.
- Fix the obvious items. Leaks, broken fixtures and old water heaters show up on every inspection and invite repair credits or cancellations.
- List early in the season. In most counties, listing in early November or in late winter puts you in front of active buyers before the holiday and spring slowdowns.
- Consider buyer incentives before cutting the price. A seller-paid rate buydown or closing cost credit can be worth more to a buyer than the same dollars off the price. Our post on seller concessions in 2026 covers how that works.
- Weigh a cash offer honestly. A cash buyer can close in two to three weeks, usually at a lower price. Our comparison of a cash offer versus selling with an agent in Florida lays out the trade-off in dollars.
Your next step
The fastest sales start with an accurate price. Get a hand-prepared home value review from a Momentum agent, based on recent comparable sales near you, and a realistic timeline for your county and price range. There is no cost and no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to sell a house in Florida?
In the third quarter of 2026, Florida single-family homes went under contract in a median 47 days and closed a median 88 days after listing, according to Florida Realtors. Condos and townhouses took a median 72 days to reach a contract and 111 days to close. Add one to four weeks of preparation before listing.
What is the average time to sell a house in Florida in 2026?
Florida Realtors reports medians rather than averages. The median single-family home took 88 days from listing to closing in Q3 2026, down from 92 days a year earlier, and went under contract in 47 days, down from 52.
How long does it take to close on a house in Florida after an offer is accepted?
For a financed buyer, usually 30 to 45 days. Statewide data puts the median gap between contract and closing at about six weeks. Cash purchases can often close in two to three weeks, depending on the title search and any HOA or condo approvals.
How long does it take to sell a house in Jacksonville, Florida?
Duval County is one of the faster large Florida markets. Active listings had a median 61 days on market in September 2026 per Realtor.com Research, versus 84 across all 67 counties, and sold homes in Duval have historically gone under contract in about six to seven weeks. Our Jacksonville analysis breaks it down further.
Do condos take longer to sell in Florida?
Yes. Florida condos and townhouses took a median 72 days to reach a contract in Q3 2026, versus 47 days for single-family homes, and supply was 7.7 months versus 4.4 months. Association documents, reserve requirements and insurance add steps for buyers and lenders.
Is it faster to sell my Florida house for cash?
A cash buyer can usually close in two to three weeks because there is no loan approval or lender appraisal. Cash offers are typically lower than what the home would bring on the open market, so compare the net amount after costs, not only the speed.
Sources: Florida Realtors, 3Q 2026 Florida single-family and condo-townhouse quarterly market detail (released October 16, 2026) and “Florida homes reach contract faster in Q3” (October 23, 2026); Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (October 29, 2026); Realtor.com Research and Zillow Research county data through September 2026, via the Momentum Florida Housing Tracker (October 19, 2026 release); Momentum county seasonality study of recorded Florida MLS closings (as of August 24, 2026); Momentum analysis of Florida MLS expired and withdrawn listings, 2026 through August 27, 2026; Florida Realtors/Florida Bar AS IS Residential Contract default inspection and loan approval periods. MLS-derived figures are aggregate statistics, deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This article is general information, not an appraisal, a valuation of any specific property, or legal, tax or financial advice.