Days on market vs. time to sell
There are two clocks. Days on market runs from listing to an accepted offer. Time to close runs from the accepted offer to the day you get paid. People who say "my house sold in 10 days" usually mean the first.
For the second clock, Opendoor describes 30 to 45 days to close through the Massachusetts attorney closing process (Opendoor Boston page). That company sells a faster alternative, so treat the figure as a ballpark. We found no official Massachusetts figure. A cash buyer without a loan can be quicker; a buyer waiting for a mortgage, or a condo or probate sale, can be slower.
Days on market by town: our 8 towns
Source: Redfin Data Center, all residential sales (houses and condos) by town and month, not seasonally adjusted. Redfin's days on market is the median for homes sold that month. "12-month average" is our sales-weighted average of those monthly medians, June 2025 to May 2026, using only months with at least 10 sales. Redfin has not published a month after May 2026.
| Town | May 2026 median days | Sales in May 2026 | 12-month average days | Range of monthly medians (12 months) | Sales in the 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melrose | 11 | 26 | 17 | 10 to 32 | 272 |
| Malden | 20 | 26 | 25 | 16 to 56 | 305 |
| Medford | 20 | 39 | 26 | 17 to 57 | 452 |
| Stoneham | 18 | 22 | 19 | 8 to 30 (11 months) | 215 |
| Wakefield | 17 | 21 | 20 | 16 to 29 (11 months) | 308 |
| Saugus | 17 | 21 | 23 | 15 to 52 | 234 |
| Lynn | 23 | 47 | 27 | 21 to 56 | 602 |
| Peabody | 21 | 32 | 23 | 17 to 43 | 357 |
Stoneham and Wakefield each had one month in the 12 with fewer than 10 sales, so we left that month out. Small towns swing a lot from month to month, because a few condo or house sales change the mix. A town median is not a forecast for your house. For prices and sales counts in each town, see the town pages, which use the same Redfin data, and credit it: Source: Redfin.
Massachusetts statewide, month by month
Realtor.com publishes median days on market for the whole state. It counts listings, not only sales, so the numbers are higher than Redfin's town figures. We read the series on October 7, 2026 on FRED.
| Month | Earlier year | Later year |
|---|---|---|
| April | 26 (Apr. 2025) | 27 (Apr. 2026) |
| May | 30 (May 2025) | 29 (May 2026) |
| September | 40 (Sept. 2025) | 45 (Sept. 2026) |
| December | 62 (Dec. 2024) | 63 (Dec. 2025) |
| January | 63 (Jan. 2025) | 66 (Jan. 2026) |
The pattern is steady: the lowest numbers are in April and May, and the highest in December and January, more than twice as long. See best time to sell for what that means for price.
We did not find a free Massachusetts Association of Realtors table of days on market by town. The association publishes statewide monthly figures, and its town tables are a member product. In June 2026 it reported a single-family median price of $715,000, down 1.4% from June 2025, with closed sales up 7.0% (WGBH, July 27, 2026).
What speeds it up or slows it down
- Price. The strongest factor. Overpriced houses sit and then sell for less. In May 2026, 81% of Melrose sales and 64% of Lynn sales closed above the list price in the Redfin data, so well-priced houses attract competition.
- Condition. A house that shows well sells faster. A house that needs work sells to fewer buyers; investors are one of them. See house needs work, sell as-is.
- Season. The same house takes longer in December than in May; see below and the best time to sell guide.
- Type. Condos and multi-families can take longer than single-family houses, and condos add a 6(d) certificate step.
- Mortgage rates. Freddie Mac's 30-year average was 7.28% on October 1, 2026, up from 6.34% a year earlier (Freddie Mac). Higher rates shrink the pool of buyers who can qualify.
- Probate and title issues. An estate needs a court-appointed personal representative before it can sell. See inherited or probate home.
How to read these numbers for your own house
Use the town table as a baseline, then adjust. If your house is priced like the recent sales and shows well, expect to land near the town's typical days. If it is priced above recent sales, expect longer. A listing in the first two weeks gets the most attention, so the first price matters more than later cuts.
Also remember what "days on market" leaves out: preparation before you list, and the 30 to 45 days to closing. A house that Redfin counts as "20 days" can still take three months from the day you start cleaning out the garage to the day you get paid. If you need a date, count backwards from it, and see the best time to sell for how the season changes the answer.
The faster alternatives
If your timeline is shorter than the 2 to 3 months above, a cash buyer or iBuyer may fit, at a price. Read sell a house fast in Massachusetts and cash home buyers first. You can compare a cash offer with listing at the comparison tool.
Home Options MA is not a broker. We introduce sellers to independent cash buyers and licensed agents and may be paid by them; our disclosures explain how.