When is the best time of year to sell your house? The general view has always been Easter. It was always enough distance away from the austerity and darkness of the post Christmas months even if it fell early in the year. Whilst new year’s resolutions which may include a house move are always made at the beginning of the year, Spring is the time that our minds really ‘spring’ into action along with the (hopefully) better weather and brighter conditions. This also makes houses more presentable. People are naturally more upbeat in brighter periods and will therefore think more positively. The 4 day holiday is also the first after Christmas allowing for more browsing and viewing opportunities or time to prepare a house for sale without having to take annual leave. This is maybe confirmed by the sudden explosion in DIY adverts around the Easter period.
Perhaps spring has been traditionally popular as the proceeding winter months have been the time when building and decorating projects have taken place in preparation for sale. Spring is also when certain experts have suggested that more potential buyers begin to search.
But things have possibly changed. Demand far outweighs supply in many areas of the country so if the ideal property comes up, buyers need to be ready to move quickly. The advent of online agents such as Zoom995 and the rise of technology in facilitating sales, offers and viewings has also made the entire process easier. We are now used to having everything immediately. The property market is no longer as seasonal as it once was.
Stuart Robinson, Director at Zoom995 says:
“We took on more properties between Christmas and new year this year than we took on during Easter last year. This continued into the new year. Buyers will not wait. Properties are not hanging around on the market for long. Even the uncertainty around Brexit doesn’t seem to have affected things much. If you see something that you want then you need to move quickly”.
People can now find out everything about a property and an area from the comfort of their own living room including floor plans and internal photographs, Google Earth and Street View, Ofsted reports, Wifi ratings and flood reports from the Environmental Agency, previous sold prices for the postcode and many other features. But there is nothing beats going and having a good look and this is where longer days and brighter conditions help present properties more effectively. But is not the whole story. It is always worth considering your potential buyer. Do you ilve in an area where many school aged children live? This may be due your area being in a particularly good catchment for a local school. Many towns outside of London and other cities such as Horsham and Crawley have seen large influxes of families moving in to get their children in to good schools before the September start of term. Such families will not be looking at properties during the summer holidays so buyers would be better looking at spring and early summer months.
Similarly, a lot of people do not want to spend their summer looking for a new home but will want to be in for Christmas. Typical buying processes take 2-3 months making mid September to the end of October another time when there are a lot of interested potential buyers.
Whatever the time of year, you can make the most of the seasons to make your property more attractive. Are you ready? If you are thinking of selling this year and want a free market appraisal and accurate valuation then contact Zoom995 today.
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