When Is The Best Time Of Year To Sell My Home?

Here at Compare Agent, we analyse the performance of every estate agent in the UK and provide you with a list of agents that cover your area and how they perform against each other. With the best online and high street estate agents at our fingertips, we have all the info you need when it comes to selling your home. Here is our advice on the best time of year to sell your property

When Is The Best Time Of Year To Sell My Home?

It is widely held that the property market becomes stronger in the spring, picking up again in the late summer and early autumn. Your property is more likely to sell quicker when the market is strong and demand is high. This means it is a good idea to keep an eye on the property market and remember to monitor prices.
Of course, property sales are also affected by interest rates with fewer people willing to take out mortgages when the Bank of England intends to raise interest rates. Our advice is to observe what is happening in your local area, ask estate agents what they are selling and search online property transaction databases to keep in the loop.
If you intend to buy and sell a home at the same time, it is a very good idea to put your house up for sale before you start looking for new properties. Many buyers even wait until they have had an offer made on their property to avoid disappointment. You would also be able to time the process more effectively because you will have an idea as to how quickly you can sell and then you can estimate the price of what your new home can be.

Negotiate Price

Your negotiating power as a seller may be influenced by the following factors:

• Amount of interest – if you are receiving multiple offers on your property, you are free to pick and choose as you wish. If your property has been on the market for some time with no real interest, the weaker your position to negotiate on price as a seller.
• Current market conditions – if demand exceeds supply, then you may receive a favourable price for your home. However, if the market is going through a slow phase, you have a far weaker negotiating power.
• Condition of the property – you will find it harder to negotiate if a lot of repair work is needed.
• Time scales – if you are under pressure to move within a fixed timescale, the weaker your position.

The negotiating power of the buyer may be influenced by the following factors:

• Chains – buyers who are not part of a chain are in a FAR better negotiating position than those who are. Less chance of things going wrong.

Ideal buyers in this sense are:

• First time buyers
• Renters in-between homes– Buying with cash.
• Investors – though they may try and negotiate a lower price for a cash sale
• Those with a solid mortgage offer – buyers whose mortgages have been pre-approved are in a better position than those who have yet to receive the paper-work.
• Those with time pressures – as above, the tighter the time scale, the weaker their position in negotiations.

The Role Of The Estate Agent

Let us look at some of the above factors in more detail.
Once an estate agent has visited your property they will suggest an appropriate price as which they suggest you go to market. They form valuations on a selection of criteria, whether that be the current and predicted market trends, recently sold prices in your area and the ‘for sale’ prices near you at the present time. Read our post about how moving house during a pandemic.

The Estate Agent will ask you lots of questions when they come to your home one of the main ones being how quickly you would like, or you need, to sell the property. The faster you need to sell the more enticing the price will have to be. If you are in no rush whatsoever then there is no harm in asking that little bit more. You can reduce the price if nothing seems to be happening. The danger is that if the price is too high you will not generate any interest.

When a price has been agreed and you are happy with your choice of estate agent, they will make an appointment to come and take some photographs. They will take measurements of all the rooms and outside spaces to go on the description that they will write about the house you are selling. They should make sure they make your house sound as fabulous as it is as the more viewers you get through the door, the more chance you have of selling your house. They should offer you the option to have a ‘for sale’ board put outside your home and that you take them up on this. Most of the best online and high street estate agents advertise properties on all the well known internet sites like Rightmove, Zoopla and so on.

Once your property has gone to market, you can sit back and wait for the viewings to roll in. Viewings during the covid pandemic are different but can still happen with specific measures in place. Some conscientious estate agents might already have some potential viewers in mind for your house. The best estate agents often have waiting lists of people waiting for homes like yours to come on the market. The estate agent is responsible for organising and managing all viewings.

After the viewings have taken place, the estate agents should make contact within 24 hours and then contact you to let you know what the viewers thoughts about your property.
When someone decides that they would like to buy your house, they will make an offer via the estate agent. You are within your rights to accept or decline any offer. Your estate agent can offer you their opinion also but ultimately the decision is yours. Once an offer has been agreed the estate agent must liaise between both parties’ solicitors and address any issues that are throughout the sale. The best estate agents have high conversion rates. This shows they are proactive, time efficient and good communicators.

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