How Choosing The Right Time to Sell Your Home Save You Time and Money!

When home owners decide to sell their home, they simply engage with an estate agent and then ask them to market it immediately without any thought. Putting your house on the open market at the wrong time of year for your particular first time buyers could mean that your property is launched with more of a dribble rather than a flood. You will need early and very strong interest from first time buyers who want to move, and that will take a little more planning.

Our top tip: Certain times of the year are much better for selling properties.

The key is to know your first time buyer and their plan according to their timescale, and certainly not yours. Different types of first time buyers like to move at different times of the year, according to their own lifestyle needs. It’s not very healthy for your eventual sale price, or for your sanity, to have a property languishing on the market for months or worst years, so the better you can plan your launch; the more likelihood is that your property will sell quickly.

So which buyers will buy when?

Young couples and singles: First time buyers will begin their first home search very early in the year because they have spent one Christmas too many at home with their immediate family and realised that now it is time to for them to move out. Their search usually starts in January and February, and their purchases will be at the lower end of the market – starter homes such as apartments and terraced homes are ideal for them – this in turn then will support the second & third time buyers’ market – into semi-detached and detached properties. This further, in turn, supports the larger mansion type properties, and so the cycle goes on repeating itself. One thing you must remember about these young couples and singles, is that they normal look at a number of different types of properties before eventually making up their mind, and because they are not in a hurry, their search will go on for months, and possibly even years. So be patient with them, and let them take their own time to make up their minds when they are viewing your home.

Families: Family home buyers are so different to first time buyers as they will buy within any of the three specific times of year such as in autumn, spring and early summer. These times are always within the school term times. Family buyers with children don’t usually like to start a house hunt during their holidays. Firstly they will have better things to do, perhaps going on holiday abroad, and secondly, it is a lot more stressful viewing a home when you have a bored child to contend with.