There’s Always a Good Time to Sell Your Home

When mulling over whether or not to move, the first question our Clyde Property negotiators are asked is, ‘When’s the best time to sell?’. Everyone knows the property market has two peak seasons – early spring so buyers are in their new homes in time for the summer and new school year intake, and early autumn, so people can be settled just before the new year.

However, the pandemic changed this. Suddenly people were in the space race, and gardens were at a premium. People didn’t want to wait until the ‘best time to sell’ to press ahead with their plans and instead wanted to take advantage of the high demand levels, and high prices achieved.

Fast forward to spring 2023, and things are a bit different. Most of us are facing a cost-of-living squeeze on our finances. Food, fuel and services are much higher than in 2021 at the height of the property market, and this has affected demand as affordability criteria are harder to meet.

For the last four months, there has been a general market slowdown. The good news is that there is no sign of a property crash but a return to more normal pre-pandemic conditions.

Looking at the bigger picture over the last five years, Rightmove has reported that March is the best time to sell your home. The winter is behind us, the days are longer, and even though it’s still cold, the sun has started to give us a taste of what’s to come. Gardens are starting to spring to life, and we are considering our summer plans.

As a result, we are seeing more homes listed for sale this month, and the number of enquiries regarding our listed properties is higher today than before Christmas. Competition between buyers for available homes has softened, but it’s still high when looking at historic levels.

This means that if you list your home for sale, more buyers and more property choices are available. Although interest rates have been high, and we saw many products pulled from the market in September after the disastrous mini-budget, fixed rates have started to come down with more mortgage deals available once again.

Many buyers are looking to move before the summer, and at the top of our buyers’ wish lists are gardens, home offices, garden rooms and balconies. So if you’re considering selling your home, now could be a good time – demand is high, and buyers are keen to get into a new school in time for the August school intake.

By selling your first, before looking to buy, it puts you in a much stronger position to purchase your next home. Many buyers won’t consider an offer unless they have secured an offer on their existing property to prevent the buyer from risking withdrawing from the purchase or having issues securing a mortgage should they fail to achieve the price they want.

The Nationwide House Price Index reveals that house prices are seasonally adjusted. This shows that pre-pandemic selling prices are higher from March up to September. Those putting their property on the market in December, July, and August secure the fewest viewings due to people being busy with Christmas and away for summer holidays. The September surge tends to be brief.

We advise that any time is an excellent time to secure a buyer for your home, but demand is highest in the spring, especially in East Renfrewshire, where schooling is at a premium. Not everyone has the luxury of waiting for the ‘best time’, so sometimes it’s advisable to press ahead with your plans depending on when you need to sell. With our expertise in marketing, we sell homes 365 days a year.