Updated October 2026
You've already moved. Maybe it was a job, maybe it was a new chapter, and now the house in Auburn or the place on Lake Martin is sitting empty while you live somewhere else. So, can you sell it without flying back every other week?
In most cases, yes. Pricing, prep, showings, offers and a lot of the paperwork can run from wherever you are, as long as you have the right local people and the plan is in writing. A few jobs still need local hands, and your closing attorney decides how the final documents get signed. Here's how it works.
The Bottom Line
- You can usually sell an Auburn or Lake Martin home without living here, but you need a local team you trust and a written plan for who does what.
- Price from comparable sales of your actual home, not from a market average, a tax assessment or an online estimate.
- Auburn had more homes competing for buyers this July than last, and homes in the Lake Martin association's area take much longer to sell than Auburn homes. Budget for carrying costs.
- Sort out title, payoffs, estate paperwork and any HOA documents before you list.
- Ask your closing attorney early how you'll sign. Don't assume a fully remote closing.
- Lake Martin sellers have extra homework: Alabama Power shoreline permits and the property's flood map.
What July 2025 and July 2026 show about competition and carrying time
Auburn and Lake Martin are reported by two different associations, with different measures, so I keep them separate.
Auburn
Per the Lee County Association of REALTORS®, Auburn's median sold price for residential homes was $431,625 in July 2025 and $494,087 in July 2026. That's about 14.5% higher, by my math.
Buyers also had more to choose from. The association counted 320 Auburn residential homes on the market in July 2025 and 442 in July 2026, roughly 38.1% more by my math. New listings went from 117 to 147, while sales slipped from 136 to 114, about 16.2% fewer.
Chart 1. Auburn residential homes on the market, new listings and sales, July 2025 vs. July 2026. Source: Lee County Association of REALTORS® monthly housing statistics, AUBURN column, July 2025; Lee County Association of REALTORS® monthly housing statistics, AUBURN column, July 2026.
My read: more listings and fewer sales means buyers can be pickier. When you're selling from a distance, the little things you can't see from far away start to matter. A lawn that hasn't been cut, a closed-up house that smells stale, a listing photo that's a bit dark. Somebody local has to catch those before a buyer does.
Average days on market for Auburn residential homes was 49 in July 2025 and 54 in July 2026, per the same association report. Budget separately for marketing and closing, and ask your agent and closing attorney what timing to plan for in your transaction.
If yours is a condo you held while a student was at Auburn, the condo side moved a lot. The association reported 14 Auburn condo sales in July 2025 and 32 in July 2026. The median condo price went from $272,500 to $357,250, and average days on market went from 29 to 57.
Lake Martin
Lake Martin figures come from the Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS®, which reports one association-wide number rather than a breakdown by town or cove. There were 63 residential sales in July 2025 and 75 in July 2026. Its July 2026 report listed 500 residential homes in inventory, up from 473 a year earlier.
Homes the association classifies as waterfront sold 36 times in July 2025 and 36 times in July 2026. Their average sale price was $1,462,465 and then $983,549. Same number of sales, very different averages. With only a few dozen waterfront sales a month, one or two big closings can swing an average a long way. The average-price difference may reflect which homes sold; these aggregate figures don't establish the cause or tell you what your lake house is worth.
Here's the number I'd actually plan around. The association's average days on market for residential homes was 124 in July 2025 and 123 in July 2026. That's more than double Auburn's average in both years.
Chart 2. Average days on market, residential: Auburn and the Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS® area, July 2025 vs. July 2026. Source: Lee County Association of REALTORS® monthly housing statistics, AUBURN column, July 2025; Lee County Association of REALTORS® monthly housing statistics, AUBURN column, July 2026; Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS®, July 2025; Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS®, July 2026.
If you're paying a mortgage, insurance, utilities and yard care on a house you don't live in, months of marketing time is real money. Build it into your budget before you list, not after.
Figures are listing and closed data for Auburn and for the Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS® reporting area as of July 2026, from the Lee County Association of REALTORS®, the Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS®, and an analysis of Lee County MLS closed-sale records. Market conditions change and past figures are not a prediction.
Pricing a home you can't walk through every week
Market medians and averages tell you the weather. They don't tell you the price of your house. That comes from recent comparable sales of homes like yours, adjusted for condition, updates, lot and location.
Price per square foot is a good example. The median price per square foot for Auburn single-family homes was $200.86 in July 2026, according to an analysis of Lee County MLS closed-sale records. That's useful context. It's not your number, because your roof, your kitchen and your street aren't the median.
Your tax assessment isn't your number either. The Alabama Department of Revenue assesses owner-occupied single-family homes at 10% of appraised value for property tax. That's a tax figure, not what a buyer will pay.
Online home value estimates are a starting point only and are not a formal comparative market analysis or appraisal.
When you can't see the house yourself, honest pricing depends on someone seeing it for you. Ask your agent to walk every room with you on a video call and point out what a buyer will notice, good and bad. Then ask for the comparable sales behind the suggested price, in writing. I answer more of the common pricing questions in my Auburn home seller FAQ.
Hiring and authorizing a local agent
Start by checking that your agent's license is active through the Alabama Real Estate Commission's online license lookup. It takes a couple of minutes.
Then get specific about what "handling it" means, and put it in the listing agreement or a written plan. For an out-of-state sale, I'd want answers to these:
- Who holds the keys, and who lets in inspectors, appraisers and contractors?
- Who checks the house after a big storm or a hard freeze?
- How will offers and documents reach you, and can you sign electronically?
- How often will you get updates, and in what form?
- Who do you call if something breaks while the house is listed?
If you're also buying in your new city, timing gets trickier. I walk through those tradeoffs in should I sell before I buy.
Getting the house ready while you're somewhere else
Repairs. In Alabama, residential construction, remodeling or repair work generally requires a licensed home builder when labor and materials together exceed $10,000, according to the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board. The board's site has a "Look Up a License" tool, so check before you hire anyone. Ask for before and after photos, and pay against finished work. Ask the contractor whether the job needs a permit from the city of Auburn or the county, too.
A vacant house. Call your insurance company before you move out, or now if you already have. Ask how your policy treats a vacant home, and get the answer in writing. Keep the power and water on, because inspectors and appraisers need them. Set up yard care and pest control, and have someone walk through after storms. Pine pollen does not care that you've moved to Denver.
Presentation. In my experience empty rooms photograph smaller and colder than they really are. Whether it's a few rented pieces or your own furniture left behind, give buyers a sense of scale. Then make sure the photos go up only after the house is clean, cut and ready.
Disclosures and selling as-is
Selling as-is changes what you'll fix. It doesn't change what you're allowed to say. If a buyer asks about the home's condition, answer honestly, and ask a real estate attorney what Alabama requires for your situation.
If your home was built before 1978, the year lead-based paint for homes was banned in the U.S., federal rules apply. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires sellers to disclose known lead-based paint and hazards, give buyers the federal lead pamphlet before they sign, offer a 10-day period for a lead inspection or risk assessment, and keep signed copies of the disclosures.
One tip for distance sellers: write down everything you know about the house before you're too far removed to remember it. Past repairs, the age of the roof and HVAC, any water you ever saw in the crawlspace. Your agent and attorney will thank you.
Title, payoffs, estates and HOAs: sort them before you list
Paperwork problems are slower to fix from another state, so find them early. Ask the closing attorney or title company to run a title search before you list, not after you have a contract. That's when you find the old lien, the second mortgage nobody released, or the co-owner who needs to sign.
If you inherited the house, the estate paperwork usually has to be in order before anyone can sign a deed. My guides on selling an inherited house in Alabama and how Alabama probate works cover the basics.
If the home is in an HOA or a condo association, request the governing documents and any resale or transfer requirements directly from the association. Buyers will ask for them, and they're easier to gather before the clock starts.
Signing and closing from another state
This is the part people worry about most, and it's usually more manageable than they expect.
Ask your closing attorney to determine which signing methods are permitted for your transaction, including whether remote notarization or signing before a notary in the state where you live is an option. Get instructions on identification, notarization and returning the documents before you arrange to sign.
Here's the catch. Your closing attorney, the title insurer, any lender and the county probate office each decide what they'll accept. Some will want original signed documents sent back by overnight mail. If you're thinking about a power of attorney, ask the attorney first whether they'll accept one and in what form. Don't sign a generic one off the internet and hope.
And one more thing: before you wire or receive money, confirm the wiring instructions by phone with your attorney's office, using a number you already know is real.
Local rules change. Confirm current requirements with the county probate office before relying on anything here. This is not legal advice.
Extra homework for a Lake Martin house
Alabama Power manages the Lake Martin shoreline, which it lists at 880 miles, with the lake's elevation at 491 feet above sea level. Docks, boathouses and other shoreline structures need Alabama Power permits, and buyers will ask about yours.
There are a lot of them out there. Between July 2017 and the end of 2022, Alabama Power issued 4,167 permits on Lake Martin. About 67 percent were on unclassified shoreline, and about 32 percent were on property where the company maintains its shoreline control strip.
Before you list, gather your permit paperwork. Then confirm with Alabama Power's shoreline management office how permits are handled when the property changes hands, so there's no surprise at closing.
Pull the effective FEMA flood map panel for your exact property, too. Don't assume a flood zone because of where the house sits on the water. And have the deed checked for any easements or recorded restrictions that affect how the shoreline can be used.
Pricing and marketing a lake house brings its own questions. I cover more of them in selling a luxury home in Auburn or on Lake Martin.
An out-of-state seller's checklist
- Verify your agent's license and put the services you need in writing.
- Call your insurer about vacancy and get the answer in writing.
- Ask for a pricing analysis built on comparable sales, with a video walkthrough.
- Order a title search and request any HOA or condo documents.
- Hire licensed contractors for repairs and check whether permits apply.
- Write down what you know about the home's condition, and handle lead-paint disclosure if the home was built before 1978.
- Ask your closing attorney how you'll sign, and whether originals or a power of attorney are needed.
- For Lake Martin, gather your Alabama Power permits and check the flood map.
Selling from a distance, with someone here
I'm Amy Cotney, REALTOR®, a licensed real estate salesperson with Roots Real Estate - Investment Development in Auburn. Selling from out of state works best when someone on the ground treats your house like it matters, because it does. You can read more about me and how I work, or call or text me at (334) 332-4002 and tell me about your home.
I build strong relationships that lead to sold homes and happy buyers, through communication, not automation.
Sources
- Alabama Department of Revenue, Property Tax Assessment: https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/property-tax/property-tax-assessment/
- Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board, Frequently Asked Questions for Applicants: https://hblb.alabama.gov/faqs-applicants/
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards: https://www.epa.gov/lead/real-estate-disclosures-about-potential-lead-hazards
- Alabama Power Shorelines, Lake Martin: https://apcshorelines.com/lake/martin/
- Alabama Power Shorelines, "Alabama Power shares information on Lake Martin permits": https://apcshorelines.com/2023/09/13/alabama-power-shares-information-on-lake-martin-permits/
- Lee County Association of REALTORS® monthly housing statistics, AUBURN column, July 2025
- Lee County Association of REALTORS® monthly housing statistics, AUBURN column, July 2026
- Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS®, July 2025
- Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS®, July 2026
- Analysis of Lee County MLS closed-sale records, July 2026
