When you come to sell your home, it’s important to have an expert on board to make sure the whole process runs smoothly and that you can get the entire transaction completed in a timely and efficient manner. Working alongside a solicitor with experience in this field is key to ensuring you have someone on hand to answer all the important questions, make things happen and generally ensure the whole process goes without a hitch.
However, there are also some things that as a seller you can do to make sure you have the best chance of securing a home sale in a timely and efficient manner, which matters when you’re selling, whether you’re looking to release the capital tied up in your property or to move up the ladder and into your new home.
One such choice that the homeowner has to make is when to sell the property. Although the market is generally very strong at the moment thanks to underlying economic health and finances of individuals, there are still times of the year when it’s better to sell, and times when waiting a little longer can pay off in the long run. Buyers do like to centre their attention on completing just ahead of a bank holiday so giving them the extra day or so off work to settle in after their move.
Selling at the right times of the year will often mean pushing the finalising of a deal and finding a buyer through faster, while the stronger demand generated in these periods can mean the buyer getting a better price for their property. But when is the best time to sell?
Early summer
The prime time to put a property on the market is in the early to mid Spring as this period welcomes many new buyers to the market who have been waiting for winter to come to an end and to see what the year holds for them. When this is coupled with the end of the school year, a time when parents will feel more comfortable about putting their children through the stress of moving house, it means a much higher level of demand from buyers, which can help to push prices ever higher. There is also the very important factor of having moved house into the caption area of the chosen school for your children well ahead of the next academic year.
Putting a property on the market in the window between mid March and late June is ideal for these reasons. The better weather means that you also have a much better opportunity to show off your home and all it has to offer a buyer, making the most of the brighter weather and summer tones to paint the house in its best light. A garden with fresh green leaves on the trees and spring or early summer flowers gives any buyer a good first impression.
Autumn
Although late spring and early summer is perennially one of the best times of the year to sell, mid summer sees a tail off of activity as families head off on holidays with fewer people choosing to look for properties to buy as a result. As early autumn nears the appetite for properties picks up again and the market becomes more active with the idea of being in before Christmas fuelling the public’s appetite to move.
Demand will start to swell for properties around October time, as more people who are considering purchasing a house start to feel under pressure to get their transaction finalised by December so they can be in their home and settled well before the Christmas period starts. For buyers, this can mean there’s a real rush on in autumn, and this often presents the best chance to get a quick sale.
Turn of the year
As Christmas and New Year starts to die down, people across the country start to get back into the general swing of things in the early months of the year and evaluate what lies ahead. But what does this mean for the property market? Most years it means that there’s a chance to get your house sold quickly as the property market starts to really pick up pace. Prices do tend to stabilise after the relatively stagnant period preceding the spring.
People see the New Year as a chance to start afresh, and many look for ways they can make changes in their lives, be it through a new career move or a new house. Interestingly it has been reported that Rightmove claimed that in January last year, as many as three million Britons were looking at houses on their first day back in work after the Christmas period. With this sort of demand afoot, it makes sense for buyers to start thinking about coming to market before Christmas is really even over.
