When do you think the best time to sell a house is? If you really try and give it some thought, you can probably come up with a good argument for any time of the year. After all, there are always houses for sale whenever you look.
But when you take a look at the data, you’ll find that this does reveal that there’s a definitive answer to this question – excluding external factors such as global health crises.
If you are in no rush to sell your property and you want to get the most profit possible from your sale, then you can try and time the market right for the best time to sell when there is the most demand from buyers. This will increase your chances of receiving a higher offer.
But what about when life gets in the way and you could do with selling your house sooner than expected? Is this going to be a smart move if you are at an inopportune time of the year?
We’ve collected some information for you that will be valuable advice for anybody looking to sell their house at any time of the year.
Do house sales drop in winter?
Yes, house sales do tend to drop off during winter and then pick up again in the spring. There are a few reasons why this is the case, with the main one being Christmas.
Christmas is a time when families have a lot of additional expenses to focus on and this means that the purchase of property is forced to go on the back burner. Because of this lack of desire to purchase property, many sellers avoid listing their property for sale during winter.
Another reason why fewer properties go on the market in winter is that it can be a hard time to make properties look as appealing as possible. During spring and summer, when we have the most sunlight and flowers and trees are in bloom, it is easy to showcase the kerb appeal of a property and entice potential buyers to attend viewings. Once we hit the rainy (and sometimes snowy) seasons, the days go shorter and more maintenance is required to make properties look inviting from the outside.
But winter is not the only time when house sales take a hit. Summer is another season when families have other concerns that can cause them to postpone big purchases like property – the most expensive purchase that most people will make in their whole lives.
During the summer holidays, while children are off school, parents have to focus on childcare and tend to organise trips either abroad or closer to home while they have the chance. So not only are they incurring extra expenses, but they will have less time to shop around for the right property to buy.
What month do the most houses go on the market in the UK?
The property market in the UK is busiest during the spring as that is when the most properties tend to go on sale, with March being the busiest month according to recent trends.
Sellers who want to secure the highest offers on their property should likely sell during spring while there are the most buyers. The best-case scenario is that there are multiple interested parties who want to buy your property which will drive the price up as they place competing offers.
However, this is not especially common and there are other downsides that come with selling property during spring.
For example, with the property market being at its busiest, solicitors and estate agents are therefore at their busiest too. This can result in your property transaction taking much longer than normal to complete.
Do houses sell for more in winter?
Unfortunately for sellers, no, houses do not sell for more in winter. This is due to the classic economic rules of supply and demand.
The number of prospective house buyers drops in winter, which means that the market is a buyers’ market. Buyers are less likely to be competing with other buyers when making offers, leaving them free to make lower offers than they would have otherwise.
This is great news for buyers, but less so for sellers.
Should I sell my house before Christmas?
If you want to get the best possible price for your property, then you should try and sell before winter and Christmas arrives. Or, if that’s not possible in your case, then you could also wait until after Christmas and sell in the new year.
The reason for this is that house prices are lower in winter in the UK, so you will be more likely to receive better offers if your house sells before Christmas.
Avoid property market trends with EasySale
The information we have given you may help you time the market if you wish to use an estate agent and sell your property the traditional method.
However, as we briefly mentioned earlier, there can be times when life forces our hands and you may have to sell your property fast during whatever time of the year it is.
Fortunately, you may be able to benefit by approaching a cash buyer such as ourselves at EasySale. We make offers of between 75-85% of market value, and we can complete sales much faster than estate agents can.
Contact us today for a no-obligation quote and we will get back to you within 24 hours.
