In a blog first published on 24th June on Plentific.com, a property information portal, Nigel Sellers of Premier Property Search was asked about his views on the best time of year to market your property.
Here is the article on Plentific.com.
"If you’re thinking of selling your house or buying your first home, the time of year can be very important to determine how quick you buy and sell or how saturated the market will be. Depending on how quick of a sale you want or how flexible you are on the asking price, this could change how you approach the buying and selling process. Nigel Sellers from Premier Property Search gave Plentific.com some tips on the best times to market your property:
“Traditionally, it was considered that Spring, going into the warmer summer months, was the first of two seasonal and best times to market your property with a second shorter period of Autumn, around September and October. However, over the last few years, selling agents have had to be more strategic in their advice and timing due to factors such as the General Election, the impact of increases in SDLT (Stamp Duty) and holidays dates, of Easter as an example. However, there are many properties that are available all year round to buy that never reach the open market and it is the well-connected, skilled and experienced property buying agent who will get to know about ‘quietly available, off-market’ properties that are available to buy”
If you’re buying or selling a house, there will be certain times that will be more popular than others. As long as you are smart about what you want and how quick you want to sell, you should be able to buy a new home or sell your current one without a huge amount of trouble as long as you are organised and have everything in order with your legal paperwork, your onward chain and mortgage approval. If you’re not sure when you should sell your, talk to your local estate agent or buying agent for more information. So when is the best time to buy or sell a house?
Good times to sell
Spring
Spring is usually cited as the best time to sell your house. This is usually because people aren’t going away for the summer holidays yet or busy with Christmas plans. Any time in the spring months are seen as houses look more attractive with natural daylight and the garden is coming into bloom. Buyers are in a better mood and are happier to go house hunting when the weather is getting more mild and the evenings are longer. If you are in a good school catchment area, spring can be a great time to sell or list your home as families with children will try to fit the purchase and move in date in around the start of the school year. If you have a bungalow or retirement property, your target market will be senior citizens, who will want to view properties when it is warmer and more mild.
Summer
Summer isn’t a great time to sell for a number of reasons. Lots of people go on holidays during the six-week period and it can be quite quiet. Secondly, families with children are either going to be away on holidays or they will have most of their time taken up with childcare. These parents will be getting their children ready to start the new school years in these six weeks and they won’t want to uproot then during the start of the year, which is generally a busy time anyway.
Autumn
Autumn can be quite a good time to sell for a lot of the same reasons as spring. If the weather is still quite mild, you’ll still have the natural daylight making your home look good and you won’t have to deal with any major holidays coming up. Be sure that you can move quickly if you do find a buyer as after October, the market slows down over the Christmas period. Once the main holidays are over, you’ll get lots of people who have been thinking about moving over the summer holidays and are finally getting the time to do so.
Winter
Winter can be a very difficult time to sell, especially with Christmas coming up. The Yuletide season is usually a very busy time of the year and there will be lots of events and family gatherings to attend. Both buyers and sellers will be distracted with things like last minute shopping and preparations than thinking about moving house. Also, the dark mornings and evenings eliminates the bright natural light you get in the summer if you’re viewing properties after work. If you’re not going to be ready to out your home on the market before December, you’re better off waiting until January. After Christmas, the festivities will be over and the school holidays are a long way away. Also, if your property is an apartment or small house marketed at first-time buyers, you should think about putting your house up for sale in January. This is the ideal time to get interested couples, who have spent Christmas at each other’s parents’ homes and are thinking about getting their first property together.
Other circumstances
If there is any kind of major works that might be happening in your area like new roads being built, an electricity pylon visible from your house or even construction work on the houses nearby, this can affect how your house will be perceived. Selling during these kinds of works means more work and communications between solicitors, which means the completion will take more time. If you wait until any works have been agreed, declined or carried out, you’ll probably be able to sell more quickly.
Good times to buy
When buying, external factors don’t really matter as much as your own personal circumstances, like finances, getting your children into a new school at the right time of the year or even how soon you can sell your own house. Make sure you have all of your affairs in order when selling your own house and thinking about employing professionals such as conveyancers, mortgage brokers or buying agents to help you sell your old home and complete on your new one more quickly.
When you want to buy, don’t forget to start looking for your next home with our property search tool. If you’re buying for the first time and aren’t sure of how much you can afford, try using our mortgage affordability calculator to calculate what kind of financial situation you’re in and whether you can handle the burden of a mortgage on top of a deposit and other costs like Stamp Duty."
If you are looking to purchase or rent a new property in the coming months and need help in searching, finding and negotiating the right price for your new home please do contact us on +44 (0) 1962 793100 or email: enquiries@premier-propertysearch.co.uk.
