I want to sell my new build home before it is completed.  What can I do?

There’s a lot of nuance here, and not surprising you’re getting a few different answers.

You can list it for sale, but probably not list it on the MLS.

Many MLS require the property to be owned by the person signing the listing agreement in order to list the property for sale on the MLS.

However, an agent can certainly sell a home without putting it on the MLS.… it’s just probably going to sell for a lot less.

Your new home contract likely is unassignable which would be the cleanest to sell it before closing. Meaning you couldn’t sign the contract over to another buyer (either for 0 or for some fee). But it’s worth a look at the sales contract to see, you never know.

If the contract isn’t assignable you’re probably going to have to pay for two closing (your purchase and then your sale) and all the attendant fees and taxes associated with it.

This is why assigning your build contract is the cleanest if possible.

But the highest price would come from letting a good agent list it on the MLS which would almost certainly mean you will need to close. But pure sales price isn’t necessarily the concern. It could be speed (you don’t have time to waste buying this house), funding (you no longer have the money to buy the house) or quite possibly you may net more with an assignment and skipping all the closing costs than listing it for sale.

And… outside chance, but you can always ask the builder to amend the contract or agree to cancel it. It’s rare, but the incentive can be there for builders to make more money selling the home now than forcing you to buy it at a price from 6 months ago. So they may be agreeable to it.