When is the Best Time to Sell Your Home?

Jeremy BiberdorfBy: Jeremy Biberdorf

August 27, 2015August 27, 2015

When is the Best Time to Sell Your Home?

Timing is everything when it comes to selling your home. The value of your property and the number of potential buyers seeking a new house can fluctuate depending on what time of the year a house is listed.

Here are some of the seasonal trends that encourage and deter potential property hunters from buying a new home.

Spring

Spring is traditionally considered the best time to sell a home. Properties tend to look their best during the spring months and so it is the perfect time to showcase a home to potential buyers. The longer hours of sun provide plenty of natural light and gardens are often in full bloom. It is also easier, weather-provided, to complete DIY jobs and get your home ready for sale.

As the fast house sales company We Buy Any Home have mentioned on the topic of property value, gardens can significantly boost the sum of your sale. So, if you have a wonderfully manicured woodland glade outside, spring could certainly be a wise time to sell.

Another reason springtime is popular for selling homes is that there are fewer holidays on the calendar to contend with. Families usually try to coincide moving home with the last few months of the season as schools wind down for the summer. That way they can avoid disrupting their child’s school year while still being able to take them on summer holidays.

However, it is worth considering the competition. The more people selling similar property, the more likely it is that the value of the property will decrease.

Summer

The momentum of the springtime property market surge often continues into the early summer months. Plenty of sunshine means houses are still looking their best, while the favorable weather conditions ensure there are enough hours to complete jobs on properties that still need a bit of work.

However, summer is not usually considered a good time to sell a home as activity tends to die down. This is partially due to children breaking off from school for their summer holidays and vacations taking precedence for most parents.

Autumn

Autumn can be a good time to sell. There are no major holidays to contend with, the new school year has started and the weather often remains fairly mild. Winter is on its way but, if you’re quick, demand for property rises steeply in the UK at this time of the year. If you do decide to sell in autumn it is hugely important to make any exterior home improvements before the chill sets in.

One stumbling block is that families prefer to buy homes before the start of the new school year to avoid unsettling their child’s education. It is worth noting that after October the market tends to slow down in the build-up to the festive season.

Winter

Winter is a notoriously difficult time to sell, particularly before and around Christmas time. It is cold and rather than hunting for a new cozy abode, most people would much rather snuggle up in their homes, concentrate on Christmas and postpone their house-hunting until the spring.

Houses that are up for sale during the winter do attract some interest, although much of this is from those hoping to bag a bargain – particularly on houses that remain unsold from the spring and summer months.

As winter is the season of a slump for house sales, this is the time to consider any renovations. Kitchen worktops suppliers Modern Worktops say that they see increases in buyers in winter, especially after the new year.

If your patience lasts beyond Christmas, it is worth waiting for the optimism that New Year’s resolutions bring. January and February are very popular with first-time buyers to begin their search. Hunting for a first house adds a little excitement to a rather dreary and uninspiring time of year.

Other things to consider

Seasonal trends aside, there are plenty of things to consider when planning the timing of property sales.

If you rush your house onto the market you are potentially setting yourself up for failure.

Proceedings are much smoother if you have thoroughly researched and are fully prepared for the selling process. For example, it is always worth checking if the Council has granted planning permission for any major construction work in your vicinity; no matter if you have a flourishing springtime garden or a newly built conservatory, even roadworks can have a negative effect on how your property is perceived,.

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Jeremy Biberdorf
Jeremy Biberdorf

About the Author:

Jeremy Biberdorf is the founder of Modest Money. He's a father of 2 beautiful girls, a dog owner, a long-time online entrepreneur and an investing enthusiast.

2 thoughts on “When is the Best Time to Sell Your Home?”

  1. Jayson @ Monster Piggy Bank

    The next time I sell my house, I am gonna make sure it’s spring to showcase a home to potential buyers as I remember back then I sold my previous house during summer, which I found it difficult to sell and had to gave up with the offer of the buyer, which was a bit lower than my expectation.

  2. It literally doesn’t matter when you sell your house… if you have to buy another one. If the price you get is low, chances are the house you’re buying will also be priced (relatively) low. If you get a record price for your house, chances are you’ll be paying a record price for the house you’re buying. That’s because houses are priced by the market, and the market really doesn’t discriminate all that much. When it’s “high” it’ll be “high” for both seller and buyer.

    Because there are transaction costs involved, I would say the best time to sell (and buy the next home) would be when prices are at their lowest, because those transaction costs are typically a percentage of the price.

    Make sense? 🙂

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