It is a truth universally acknowledged that a seller in possession of a good quality property must wait until the spring to advertise it. However, holding fire until the hyacinths and tulips are bursting into bloom could be detrimental to the sale of your home, particularly when looking ahead to next year, for the following reasons.
It is our experience of recent years that the spring property season begins as early as January. The autumn market, which has shrunk over recent years as the summer holidays seem to get longer, promises much but often delivers little in terms of new properties to the market. By the time January arrives after a damp squib of an autumn, buyers who have been searching through the latter part of the year are, therefore, eager to get on with it and are unlikely to hold-off until Easter to settle on a preferred property.
The seasonality of the market has also been largely eroded by the internet. Once a decision to move has been taken, a potential buyer is not going to turn off their laptop in October for five months pending better weather. Their purchase will instead be opportunity driven and if your property is available out of season you are more likely to stand out and catch their attention at a time when the alternative options are limited. By launching early you get the pick of the new buyers whilst other potential sellers delay waiting for the perfect photo opportunity
The Christmas/New Year festive holiday is an extended break for many people and a time when, for example, couples make plans together for the coming year. Most property searches begin these days online. Visits to our website and the property portals go through the roof at the beginning of every year, driven by these people who have resolved over Christmas to move house.
If your property is likely to appeal to the second/holiday home buyer you may think that it is advantageous to hold off until the better weather arrives but you could be mistaken. The last thing many people looking for a second home want to do is to go house hunting during their summer holidays – instead they want to already be in, enjoying living in Rye, walking on the beach etc. Working backwards, that probably means identifying a suitable property to purchase by early March at the latest. Equally, for buyers looking for a property from which to derive a holiday let income, they want to be fully operational well before the spring in order to get the bookings for the summer season.
I think it is extremely difficult to forecast the strength of the economy and the housing market in 3-6 months’ time as it is probable that Article 50 will have been triggered and negotiations for our departure from the EU will have commenced in earnest, seemingly without any credible plan in place. The probability is that we are at best in for a sustained period of uncertainty which will further undermine confidence in the housing market. The Chancellor recently ruled out a spring budget for next year and so any hope of a reform of the punitive Stamp Duty levies which have choked the London market can also be extinguished. On top of which, if inflation starts to get out of control interest rates may have to start rising in response. We can, therefore, forecast with some degree of confidence that next year will be challenging. We also know that right now we are experiencing strong buyer demand and sales are being agreed on a regular basis. Given that and given that we are unlikely to see any uplift in the spring, why wait? A good house is a good house, no matter what time of year you sell it.
