When is the best time to sell your house?

If all other variables are equal, ‘when’ you put your house on the market can greatly impact how long it takes to find a buyer, and how much that buyer is willing to pay. If you have the luxury of being able to choose when to sell, this guide will be helpful, it will tell you the best and worst times to sell a house.

When do homes sell quickly?

Ask most estate agents ‘is now a good time to sell my house?’ and they will likely reply, ‘yes, now is a great time to sell. However, statistically, spring is the best time to sell your house. Our estate agents usually find the market is most active in the months of March, and this is the best month if you want to sell your house fast. April to June are also very active months. But, this is not a gospel rule, a good estate agent should be able to give you advice tailored to the individual variations of your local market, which also takes into account the specifics of your property type.

When is the worst time to sell your house?

Convention says that August and December are the ‘worst’ months when it comes to selling your house, however, when analysing our data, we found that listing your house between October 15th – November 15th will result in the longest time on market, usually around 79 days.

Supply and demand

Most estate agents agree the reason for these peaks and troughs is due to supply and demand. The best time to sell is when there are lots of buyers actively looking to buy. However, you don’t just need high demand, you also need lower levels of supply. So, in reality the best time to sell is when there are lots of buyers actively looking, and when there are fewer competing sellers. This is because:

• Competition between potential buyers has a positive effect on your possible sale price.
• Competition forces buyers to offer their maximum.
• The more buyers there are, and the less properties there are available, the more intense the environment is.

If you need any more help getting to grips with when to sell, get in touch with our estate agents, and we can talk more.