Closing Timelines by City
How Long Does It Take to Close on a House? Timelines for 25 California and Texas Cities
Updated October 30, 2026
Reviewed by:
Head of Growth at TurboHome
Head Agent, California · CalDRE #01997822
Across 25 California and Texas cities, the median time to close on a house ranges from 15 days in San Francisco to 31 days in Katy, measured from the signed purchase contract to the recorded sale on 95,716 closings between October 30, 2025 and October 29, 2026. Bay Area cities close fastest (San Francisco 15, Berkeley 17, Oakland and San Mateo 21), Southern California runs 25 to 30 days, and every Texas city lands between 28 and 31. Cash buyers close in 12 to 28 days depending on the city; FHA buyers take 26 to 39.5. The national benchmark from NAR is 30 days.
TurboHome Market Analysis · California and Texas · Closings from October 30, 2025 to October 29, 2026
Median days to close, ranked
| Rank | City | State | Median days to close | 25th to 75th pct | Closed within 21 days | Median days on market | Cash share | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco | California | 15 | 9 to 21 | 75.1% | 14 | 31% | San Francisco guide |
| 2 | Berkeley | California | 17 | 13 to 22 | 71.9% | 14 | 30.9% | Berkeley guide |
| 3 | Oakland | California | 21 | 15 to 29 | 55% | 16 | 18% | Oakland guide |
| 4 | San Mateo | California | 21 | 15 to 28 | 53.3% | 12 | 27.3% | San Mateo guide |
| 5 | Walnut Creek | California | 22 | 18 to 30 | 46.8% | 15 | 46.1% | Walnut Creek guide |
| 6 | San Jose | California | 23 | 17 to 30 | 44.5% | 13 | 18.9% | San Jose guide |
| 7 | Fremont | California | 24 | 19 to 30 | 39.7% | 13 | 14.8% | Fremont guide |
| 8 | Carlsbad | California | 25 | 20 to 32 | 34.5% | 16 | 33.2% | Carlsbad guide |
| 9 | Sacramento | California | 25 | 18 to 32 | 37.8% | 21.5 | 16.4% | Sacramento guide |
| 10 | San Diego | California | 25 | 20 to 32 | 36.5% | 16 | 24.4% | San Diego guide |
| 11 | Pasadena | California | 26 | 18 to 35 | 35.8% | 20 | 36.2% | Pasadena guide |
| 12 | Chula Vista | California | 27 | 21 to 35 | 29.4% | 15 | 9.9% | Chula Vista guide |
| 13 | Dallas | Texas | 28 | 20 to 34 | 30.3% | 32 | 29.4% | Dallas guide |
| 14 | Irvine | California | 28 | 20 to 34 | 30.7% | 27 | 37.7% | Irvine guide |
| 15 | Plano | Texas | 28 | 21 to 33 | 27.4% | 28 | 21.5% | Plano guide |
| 16 | Santa Monica | California | 28 | 19 to 36 | 33.8% | 22 | 53.2% | Santa Monica guide |
| 17 | The Woodlands | Texas | 28 | 20 to 35 | 28.4% | 17 | not reported | The Woodlands guide |
| 18 | Fort Worth | Texas | 29 | 23 to 37 | 21.1% | 35 | 15.9% | Fort Worth guide |
| 19 | Houston | Texas | 29 | 21 to 36 | 26% | 27 | not reported | Houston guide |
| 20 | Austin | Texas | 30 | 23 to 37 | 20.3% | 54 | 24.9% | Austin guide |
| 21 | Frisco | Texas | 30 | 23 to 36 | 20.6% | 37 | 21% | Frisco guide |
| 22 | Long Beach | California | 30 | 22 to 37 | 21% | 19 | 21.1% | Long Beach guide |
| 23 | Los Angeles | California | 30 | 21 to 39 | 27.5% | 24 | 27.6% | Los Angeles guide |
| 24 | Round Rock | Texas | 30 | 24 to 35 | 18.7% | 57 | 17.8% | Round Rock guide |
| 25 | Katy | Texas | 31 | 24 to 39 | 17.9% | 27 | not reported | Katy guide |
What stands out
- San Francisco is the fastest-closing city we track at 15 days, with 75.1% of sales closing inside three weeks. Contingency-free, fully underwritten offers are the norm, and South of Market, Western Addition and the Richmond District all post 14-day medians.
- Texas is remarkably uniform: Dallas, Plano and The Woodlands close in 28 days, Fort Worth and Houston in 29, Austin, Frisco and Round Rock in 30, and Katy in 31. The 30-day closing written into most TREC contracts is doing its job.
- The cash advantage is biggest in the Bay Area. Berkeley cash buyers closed in 12 days versus 20 for conventional borrowers, and Oakland cash buyers in 13 versus 22. In Santa Monica, where 53.2% of reported sales were cash, cash closings still took 28 days because condo and rent-control paperwork does not care how you pay.
- FHA buyers wait longest in Los Angeles: a median 39.5 days, nearly two weeks longer than LA cash buyers at 26 days. In Dallas and Fort Worth, FHA closings run just one day behind conventional ones.
- Fort Worth has the highest FHA share (27.3%) and Chula Vista the highest VA share (21.5%) of any city we track. Walnut Creek has the highest cash share in the Bay Area (46.1%), almost entirely because of the Rossmoor 55-plus community.
- Days on market matters more than closing time in Texas. Austin homes sat a median 54 days before going under contract and Round Rock homes 57, so the full listing-to-keys timeline there is 84 to 87 days even though closing itself is 30.
- Plano is the most predictable market: a 28-day median and only 6.4% of closings running past 45 days. Los Angeles is the least, with 17.2% of closings taking more than 45 days.
Cash, conventional, FHA and VA timelines by city
| City | Cash share | Cash median days | Conventional median days | FHA share | FHA median days | VA share | VA median days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley, CA | 30.9% | 12 | 20 | 0.3% | too few | 0.2% | too few |
| Carlsbad, CA | 33.2% | 21 | 28 | 0.5% | too few | 4.2% | 30 |
| Chula Vista, CA | 9.9% | 19 | 28 | 12.4% | 31 | 21.5% | 27 |
| Fremont, CA | 14.8% | 15 | 26 | 0.4% | too few | 0.2% | too few |
| Irvine, CA | 37.7% | 20 | 30 | 1.2% | 32.5 | 0.8% | too few |
| Long Beach, CA | 21.1% | 22 | 30 | 7.9% | 33 | 3.6% | 31 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 27.6% | 26 | 32.5 | 13.7% | 39.5 | 1% | 32 |
| Oakland, CA | 18% | 13 | 22 | 5.9% | 26 | 1.3% | 30 |
| Pasadena, CA | 36.2% | 21 | 29 | 0.8% | too few | 0.6% | too few |
| Sacramento, CA | 16.4% | 16 | 27 | 21.1% | 27 | 4.7% | too few |
| San Diego, CA | 24.4% | 19 | 27 | 4.1% | 29 | 9.5% | 27 |
| San Francisco, CA | 31% | 13 | 23 | 0.5% | too few | 0.3% | too few |
| San Jose, CA | 18.9% | 14 | 25 | 1.3% | 30.5 | 0.9% | 29 |
| San Mateo, CA | 27.3% | 14 | 23 | 1.2% | too few | 0.4% | too few |
| Santa Monica, CA | 53.2% | 28 | 30.5 | 0% | too few | 0% | too few |
| Walnut Creek, CA | 46.1% | 21 | 23 | 0.9% | too few | 0.7% | too few |
| Austin, TX | 24.9% | 22 | 31 | 5.5% | 32 | 3.4% | 34 |
| Dallas, TX | 29.4% | 19 | 29 | 11.9% | 30 | 2.8% | 30 |
| Fort Worth, TX | 15.9% | 19 | 30 | 27.3% | 31 | 10.2% | 31 |
| Frisco, TX | 21% | 22 | 30 | 3.4% | 31.5 | 3.9% | 32 |
| Houston, TX | not reported | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Katy, TX | not reported | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Plano, TX | 21.5% | 18 | 29 | 6.1% | 29 | 3.3% | 31 |
| Round Rock, TX | 17.8% | 24 | 30 | 10.9% | 32 | 5.7% | 29 |
| The Woodlands, TX | not reported | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Houston, Katy and The Woodlands do not report buyer financing in our feed. Santa Monica (126 of 591 closings) and San Francisco (368 of 4,556) report it for a minority of sales, so their shares are directional.
How the closing process differs in California and Texas
In California, the clock starts when both sides sign the C.A.R. Residential Purchase Agreement. The contract's default contingency period is 17 days for inspections, appraisal and loan approval, and the close of escrow date is negotiated, with 21 and 30 days the most common choices. An escrow company (or a title company acting as escrow) holds the deposit, orders title, coordinates the lender's closing documents and records the deed with the county. Cash buyers and buyers with a fully underwritten pre-approval often shorten or waive the contingency period, which is how 14 to 21 day closings happen.
In Texas, the clock starts on the effective date of the TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract. Most buyers negotiate an option period of 7 to 10 days for inspections, and the Third Party Financing Addendum sets a separate deadline (often 15 to 21 days) for loan approval. A title company handles the closing: it issues the title commitment, orders or updates the survey, prepares the settlement statement and records the deed. There is no transfer tax in Texas, and property taxes are prorated at closing based on the prior year's bill, which can be a surprise line item for buyers moving from other states.
City guides
California
- How long to close on a house in Berkeley: median 17 days
- How long to close on a house in Carlsbad: median 25 days
- How long to close on a house in Chula Vista: median 27 days
- How long to close on a house in Fremont: median 24 days
- How long to close on a house in Irvine: median 28 days
- How long to close on a house in Long Beach: median 30 days
- How long to close on a house in Los Angeles: median 30 days
- How long to close on a house in Oakland: median 21 days
- How long to close on a house in Pasadena: median 26 days
- How long to close on a house in Sacramento: median 25 days
- How long to close on a house in San Diego: median 25 days
- How long to close on a house in San Francisco: median 15 days
- How long to close on a house in San Jose: median 23 days
- How long to close on a house in San Mateo: median 21 days
- How long to close on a house in Santa Monica: median 28 days
- How long to close on a house in Walnut Creek: median 22 days
Texas
- How long to close on a house in Austin: median 30 days
- How long to close on a house in Dallas: median 28 days
- How long to close on a house in Fort Worth: median 29 days
- How long to close on a house in Frisco: median 30 days
- How long to close on a house in Houston: median 29 days
- How long to close on a house in Katy: median 31 days
- How long to close on a house in Plano: median 28 days
- How long to close on a house in Round Rock: median 30 days
- How long to close on a house in The Woodlands: median 28 days
Methodology
TurboHome analyzed MLS-recorded home sales in 25 California and Texas cities with close dates between October 30, 2025 and October 29, 2026 (95,716 closings with a usable contract date). Contract-to-close days is the difference between the purchase contract date and the recorded close date, limited to 0 to 180 days. Financing type comes from the buyer financing field and is grouped into cash, conventional, FHA and VA; sales with multiple or missing values are excluded from financing shares. Neighborhood and property type figures require at least 25 and 20 closings respectively. In some MLSs the contract date is recorded at pending status rather than acceptance, which can shorten the measured window. National benchmarks: NAR REALTORS Confidence Index, September 2026 (contracts typically closed in 30 days; 27% cash buyers); Freddie Mac PMMS, October 29, 2026 (30-year fixed 7.24%).
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to close on a house in 2026?
Nationally, NAR's September 2026 REALTORS Confidence Index reports contracts typically closed in 30 days. In TurboHome's California and Texas markets the median ranges from 15 days (San Francisco) to 31 days (Katy), with most Texas cities at 28 to 30 and most Southern California cities at 25 to 30.
Which city closes fastest?
San Francisco, at a median 15 days, followed by Berkeley (17), Oakland and San Mateo (21), Walnut Creek (22) and San Jose (23). All are Bay Area markets where fully underwritten, contingency-free offers are common.
How much faster do cash buyers close?
It depends on the city. The cash advantage over a conventional loan is 8 to 11 days in the Bay Area (Berkeley, Oakland, San Jose, San Mateo), 6 to 11 days in Southern California and Texas, and only two to three days in Santa Monica and Walnut Creek, where HOA and community paperwork sets the pace.
Do FHA and VA loans take longer to close?
Usually by a few days. FHA closings ran 0 to 4 days longer than conventional ones in most cities and 7 days longer in Los Angeles. VA closings were within a day or two of conventional in San Diego, Chula Vista, Dallas and Fort Worth.
What is the full timeline from listing to keys?
Add days on market to the closing period. Bay Area homes sell in about two weeks and close in two to three more, for roughly 30 to 40 days from listing to keys. Austin and Round Rock homes sit 54 to 57 days before contract and then close in 30, for about 12 weeks.
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About the Author
Vinura Abeysundara
Vinura Abeysundara is a real estate and growth professional with experience scaling homebuying platforms across Canada and the United States. Formerly Head of Growth at Zown, he now works with TurboHome and writes about homebuyer savings, flat-fee real estate, commissions, and technology in real estate.
View Vinura on LinkedInAbout Kevin Kretzmer
Head Agent, California
Kevin Kretzmer leads TurboHome's California agent team and reviews California and national buyer guidance for practical brokerage accuracy.
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