Q. I’m thinking of selling my property and wondering in your opinion when is the best time to put it on the market, friends have all given me their opinions and to be honest left me totally confused! Do you think it’s a good idea this close to Christmas, or is it better to wait until January?
A. Getting the timing right when it comes to formally marketing your property for sales is crucial. The property market pretty much has the same peaks and troughs each year, obviously this can be altered by the state of the financial climate at the time but in general there are better times than others to market. Personally, I would advise against marketing your property at this stage of the year. Unfortunately most people’s attention is elsewhere at this time – looking forward to Christmas and a break from life’s hectic schedule. Buyers pretty much dry up during this festive period and put their search on hold until the New Year when most Agents expect and advise buyers that they will see a healthy amount of new stock arriving on the market. I would however definitely say it’s worth planning ahead and getting the agents in to value your property at this stage so that you can make your decision to go ahead or not. If you do decide you definitely want to sell then start organising your home for marketing, and instruct your agent. You will need to obtain an EPC (energy performance certificate) to legally market so organise things like this that can often delay valuable marketing time once the market is thriving again. Once you are ready and committed to selling ask your agent to send their photographer round to take the marketing shots and draw up the floor plans. They can then prepare your brochure and ensure that the marketing material is ready to go out in the New Year. I usually recommend the second week of January as the best time, this way those that have taken extended holiday for Christmas and New Year are back and those seriously wanting to buy have had a week or so to get their selves together following the festive period to begin their search. Historically January through to spring – April/May is always a really buoyant time in the property market as is September, having said that as long as you have a great property that is priced right and you have a professional proactive Agent to market the property on your behalf you should be able to successfully secure a sale at most times of the year.