Selling Houses in Monopoly – Rules You Should  Know

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You’re in a Fix. You’re in trouble. You’ve been playing god since the start of the game, and now you’ve run out of cash. You’ve built so many houses on your properties, and now you’re stuck. You can’t pay rent. 

Maybe you want to upgrade some other properties on the board because of the high chance of opponents landing on them. There’s only one thing you can do in both of these cases. It’s time to start selling houses. 

This comprehensive guide will teach you exactly how to sell houses following Monopoly rules. I have broken down everything you need to know, but here are a few facts about selling houses in Monopoly before we delve in.

Quick Facts About Housing Sales in Monopoly

• You can sell houses in Monopoly if you need some cash.
• You’re only allowed to sell houses to the bank.
• You’re not allowed to sell to other players.
• Houses are sold for half of their purchase value.

Can You Sell Houses In Monopoly?

Yes, players are allowed to sell houses in Monopoly. You cannot sell to other players but only to the bank. You only get half their original price when you sell houses to the bank. For instance, it costs $200 to buy a house on Boardwalk. If you intend to sell, you will get $100 back from the bank. 

Selling houses is rarely a good idea and should be done only when you run out of options. Selling to the bank can also mean you may not have any houses left when you have enough money later in the game. 

However, when push comes to shove, you may decide this is your only choice. Below is a list of buy-and-sell house prices based on their site colors. We will start with the brown group of properties just after GO.

Property Color Group	Buy Price	Sell Price
Brown	$50	$25
Light Blue	$50	$25
Pink	$100	$50
Orange	$100	$50
Red	$150	$75
Yellow	$150	$75
Green	$200	$100
Dark Blue	$200	$100

How To Sell Houses in Monopoly

For you to sell houses in Monopoly, you have to wait your turn or in between another player’s turn, especially when you have to pay the rent. 

You must remove the house from your property and return it to the bank. Then collect half the purchase value of the house. For example, if you intend to sell a house within the Green properties, you must collect $100 from the bank, as the purchase value is $200.

As stated earlier, selling houses should be your last resort when you need cash. However, the most common time to sell houses is during your turn when you land on another player’s house. Selling your house before your turn isn’t wise because nothing guarantees that you must land on your opponent’s house.

If you sell your house before moving, you might regret it after not needing rent to pay your opponent. The most painful part of being ahead of yourself is that other players may have taken the house, and you have nothing left. 

According to the standard Monopoly rules, when the bank has no house left, you must wait for other players to return them before repurchasing them.

Some players set house rules that allow them to use hotels to represent houses when houses finish from the bank. I, for one, think that this house rule takes away the game’s fun, tension, and seriousness. 

House rules like this do no good to the game but elongate it. Never play by these rules if you want a fast game with your friends or family.

Can You Trade Houses in  Monopoly?

No, you can’t trade houses in Monopoly. Also, Players are not allowed to trade properties with a house on them. To trade a property, you must sell houses on them back to the bank before proceeding with the exchange. Simply said, you can’t trade houses, only properties. 

Trading one site within a color group is allowed, but you must ensure the houses on the space go back to the bank before the trade happens. 

Players cannot move houses from one property to another simply because they intend to trade. Whatever the case, houses must return to the bank for half the price before trades and exchanges can happen. 

Can You Mortgage Houses in Monopoly?

In Monopoly, you cannot mortgage houses. You may only sell them to the bank. You are not allowed to sell houses to anyone else but the bank.

If you intend to mortgage a property with houses, you must first sell the house to the bank.

The tactics of buying and selling houses in Monopoly are so interesting. However, you must avoid buying houses, especially when circumstances do not permit. Before you purchase a house, make sure you have enough cash to pay rent on any opponent’s property you may land on before getting a salary again. 

I do not buy houses immediately after passing GO. I prefer to buy them halfway through the board or close to GO.

Even at that, I still have to anticipate any rents that may befall me as I pass the board’s last levels. 

If you become unstrategic in your gameplay and do not adequately discern when to buy houses, you may have to return the house to the bank, which would be an awful waste of money. When playing Monopoly, you must use more brain cells.  You must know what moves to make and when to make them.

Else, even with the right moves, you might get in trouble.

Can You Sell Houses Unevenly In Monopoly?

Uneven sales are not allowed in Monopoly. What does unevenly selling houses mean? Well, imagine you own all three sites in the Green group of properties.

You have 4 houses on the first, second, and third property space. 

When you want to sell houses, you cannot deal only with houses on the first Green property. You must sell one of the first, second, and third properties first and then do the same if you intend to sell more. You must sell evenly across all properties of the same color group.

This rule makes the game more interesting. Players can not empty one property while having enough on the next space to ruin the finances of their opponents. If you intend to sell 4 properties, they must be evenly distributed. 

If you have other properties, you can decide to sell one from each color group to ensure you don’t weaken your rent value.

How Much To Sell Houses For in Monopoly 

Selling houses in Monopoly depends entirely on the value of the houses. Different properties have differing house costs. The table below should give you an idea of each property group’s buying and selling value. 

Beware that some property groups, like the Orange property groups, have one space that costs less than others. Ensure to check your Title Deeds before every sale.

Mortgaging Properties VS Selling 

In Monopoly, mortgaging properties and selling houses have some similarities. 

If you ever run into debt while playing, selling houses and mortgaging properties are both great ways to generate quick cash. 

After players sell their houses or mortgage their properties, they always come back to undo their decision. While this is allowed in the game, you should take a few seconds to consider the cost of undoing your decision before selling a house or mortgaging a property. 

I believe this is a significant loss to any player who takes the deal. The Monopoly system simply uses you to enrich the bank. How?

Consider how much you get when you mortgage a property or sell a house. For example, you own Boardwalk and have one house in the space. If you sell the house, you get $100 from the bank, which is 50% of its original purchase price. 

If you mortgage the property, you also get half its purchase price which is $200. Getting money from the bank to solve your rent problems can be satisfying, but the repercussions could be deadly. 

Later in the game, when you have enough cash to pay back the bank for your house and mortgage property, the banks’ terms set in.

First, you must repay the mortgage plus 10% interest to the bank to get your property back. And to get back your house, you must pay the total price for the house.

Remember that you got $200 from the bank for a mortgage, and now you must repay $220. For the house, you get $100 from the bank. To get it back, you pay $200, which is 100% interest.

Doing the math, I would think twice before deciding to mortgage my property or sell a house. I usually make sure it is my only option, my last lifeline.

However, you must remember that if the bank runs out of houses, you must wait for other players to either upgrade to hotels and return the houses or sell back houses to the bank.

If players return houses because they are upgrading to hotels, this might mean bad or good news for you, depending on your position and other variables.

What Happens When You Sell All Your Houses in Monopoly?

Being in this situation can be disheartening. You must have put much effort into acquiring properties and buying houses. Suddenly you have this massive debt from landing on an opponent’s hotel. 

You’re short on cash; the only option is selling your house. But then the problem is that you need to sell more than a few of your houses to pay back this debt; you must sell all. Does that sound familiar? 

Personally, I have found myself in this situation one too many times while playing with my friends. It can’t be predicted or avoided. 

It can be as simple as picking a Chance card. Now your plans and your strategy are all in the drains. From this point, the only thing to do is gradually find your way back to the top. 

When you sell all your houses in Monopoly, simply try to repurchase them when you have enough cash. A good strategy can be repurchasing them one after another. Trying to buy back all you lost at once can be burdensome.

What Happens When All Houses Are Sold in Monopoly?

Players can no longer purchase houses when the bank sells all houses in Monopoly. It is usually the case until a player returns a house to the bank. Players can return houses to the bank when they upgrade to hotels or are out of cash and need quick cash.

However, you never want to be the player waiting for others to return houses to the bank before you can buy. 

In Monopoly, there are only 32 houses. That may sound like a lot, but it really isn’t. Each property space contains at most 4 houses before eventually becoming a hotel. So one group of properties can take up to 12 houses. If 3 players get their spaces full, it’s over. You can’t do anything until they return them to the bank.

This estimation is why you must never let yourself run out of the house. Selling houses should be only when you have no other choice.

How To Sell Hotels in Monopoly?

You are allowed at any time to sell your hotels. Selling hotels work the same as selling houses. You get half its original purchase value, and must be sold evenly.

However, just like buying five houses makes a hotel, when you sell a hotel, you’re simply downgrading to 4 houses. When you downgrade, you can’t sell houses on the property space without selling other hotels within the property group. 

When players sell a hotel, they are to collect 4 houses from the bank while getting half the purchase value of one house. However, there are conditions.

If no houses are in the bank, a player is forced to sell all hotels on his property group and gets only half its value. 

Remember that before you can further sell houses after downgrading a hotel, you must sell other hotels within the property group. 

Hence, if there are no houses in the bank, you have nothing to replace the hotels with, which means everything goes to the bank even if it’s not your wish. You get half of the hotel’s value. The official rules by Hasbro make it clear that hotels can only get replaced by houses available in the bank.

For example, if four houses are in the bank and you must sell your hotels, you are expected to replace all hotels across the group of properties with the four houses in the bank. And you only get the value for downgrading from a hotel. 

To prevent this, if another player returns some houses, it would be wise to downgrade from a hotel to ensure you have your four houses if the need arises.

How To Sell Properties in Monopoly

To sell properties in Monopoly, you simply negotiate with another player. After reaching an agreed price, you may give the other player the title deeds in exchange for the money. Once this happens, a sale has occurred. You no longer have ownership rights to the property.

However, reasons for selling properties may vary from player to player. Thus, before selling, ensure that you are getting the best deal.

Sometimes, you may sell properties in exchange for a preferred property and some extra cash if you feel your property is more valuable than the opponent’s offer. 

If you’re short on money, you may like to mortgage your property to the bank for half the purchase value.

However, remember that you have to pay back the mortgage value plus 10% to undo this.

What Happens To Ownership Card/Title Deed After Selling Properties in Monopoly?

After selling properties in Monopoly, the buyer takes control of the title deed, which shows ownership. If a player who buys a property from another leaves his title deed, he might lose the property despite having paid.

Can You Sell Sell Your Land To The Bank?

Yes, you can sell your mortgage properties to the bank in exchange for half the purchase value. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Selling Houses in Monopoly

Can You Sell Your House at Any Time in Monopoly?

Whether it’s your turn or another player’s turn, you can sell your property anytime in the Monopoly game.

How Much Are Houses in Monopoly?

Depending on the color of the properties. Different properties have differing costs for houses. Here are their prices:

• Brown – $50
• Light Blue – $50
• Pink – $100
• Orange – $100
• Red – $150
• Yellow – $150
• Green – $200
• Dark Blue – $200

How Many Houses Are in Monopoly?

There are 32 houses and 12 hotels in Monopoly.

Can You Sell a Mortgaged Property in Monopoly?

You can sell mortgaged properties to another player. However, the new owner can’t lift the mortgage without paying the bank back. Only the bank can lift the mortgage after payment.

When Can You Sell Houses in Monopoly?

At any point in the game, you can sell houses in Monopoly.