When is the best time of year to sell?
When selling your house, it is likely that many questions will be forming in your mind. One of which will be when to sell your house. So, which season will ensure that buyers are more likely to view your home?
There is so much to think about when moving to a new house. Where to look, what to look for, communities, schools, work, travel… the list is endless!
There are many factors involved in getting the best price for your current home. A question that might not strike house sellers straight away is what season to sell your house in. What is the best period?
Autumn? Winter? Spring? Summer?
There are also times to avoid putting your house on the market, which we will cover later in this article.
We’ve factored in the benefits of each period and written up the best ways to sell the property during each of the four seasons. Take a look…
Is Spring the best time to sell your home?
Widely considered to be the perfect time to sell a home due to several factors. The upturn in weather conditions and bloom of the British wildlife can display properties at their most colourful and appealing.
One of the steps for selling a house is the photographs. Those pictures of the house and garden are going to look bright and sparkly during the spring season. The warmer days have people in a brighter mood, thinking of summer and the future, and therefore more likely to get up and go house hunting. It can be quite common for families to start looking in the spring, too, as they might be looking to move by the end of the summer holidays before the kids go back to school.
Summer - sell your house fast when the sun’s out
Whilst some might look at the summer as an ideal time to sell with more time on their hands, this actually works backwards. You might have more time, but so do most other people during the summer.
Solicitors and surveyors might be away, kids will be back from school and taking up the parent’s time that could otherwise be spent house hunting instead. These are all significant in the process of selling a house, so you need to make sure everything can come together when looking at the ways to sell your property. However, many still prefer it to the winter months because of the increase in wildlife, colourful plants, and the general good feeling the sun brings.
Selling your house in autumn
Autumn can be a good period for selling your home. The market generally picks up after the school holidays finish, so the house hunters are out and about, hoping to move in by Christmas.
Aesthetically, selling your house during this season can be particularly pleasing to the eye in when it comes to property visits. If you have any trees nearby or in view of the property, it is sure to strike a scenic connection with any budding house viewer. Think about purchasing some wooded scents and cinnamon candles, too, as these can strike a fine balance between the colours and smells of the autumn season.
A few dry autumn leaves littering the ground can be scenic, but make sure the gardens and the areas around the house aren’t absolutely covered in sodden wet greenery. Not a good look when selling a house. A good tip for selling your home is to make sure you have an effective garden tidy before any potential viewing, so make sure this is done.
Selling your house in winter
Winter can be a tough time to sell a house. However, if you abide by some strict rules during the house-selling period, you can give yourself a few advantages that no other season can offer.
A great house-selling tip in winter is to identify one of the most important aspects of the house-buying process and target it for success: first impressions. It is one of the best homely comforts: walking through the threshold and closing the door on a dark wintery evening to find yourself flooded with the warmth and light of your own home. If you manage to nail this feeling every time a house hunter comes knocking, you can bet you’ll be on your way to achieving a house sale.
The scenery always takes a knock during winter (if it isn’t snowing!). However, if any plants or trees surrounding your house lose their leaves, this can leave the door open to a seasonal ‘good view’. If you have any trees that block a panoramic view in the summer, for instance, then winter would be the perfect time to sell as it gives the house another great seasonal feature.
What is the best time to sell your house?
Traditionally springtime is certainly the most popular time for selling a house. Typically, the housing market will gather pace from around March and continue its upward trend until around June. There will be a slight dip over summer, an upward trend in the autumn before the biggest dip over winter. Of course, the current property market will also dictate when might be best to put your house up for sale. It’s always worth doing the research to find out what state the market is in, and whether it’s currently a buyers' or sellers' market.
Location can also affect the best time to sell. For instance, if you are trying to sell a holiday home, it is advisable to list it during the spring/summer months, as it’s more likely to have buyers looking for a warmer climate.
As a general rule of thumb, we advise not launching around bank holidays and most of December unless really must, as there is a significant reduction in online traffic around these times.
If you’re not sure when might be a good time to list, have a chat with us and we can update you on the current market conditions at this time.
