Why it Pays to Act Fast if You're Selling in January

If you're thinking of selling a property in 2018, you'll find that it pays to act quickly.

Every year we see the same trend in January. Buyers start looking for their new home almost as soon as the new year has been rung in, but we only see homes coming onto the market in significant numbers towards the end of the month.

There are a number of practical reasons for this. Some people take a week or two to get back into the swing of things after the festive period, so they hold off on booking a valuation of their property until the end of the month. Others may have overstretched themselves a wee bit over Christmas and think that they’ll need to wait until the first pay day on the new year before getting their home up for sale. And still others believe that it’s best to wait until spring before selling their property.

The reality is that those sellers who do manage to get their home up for sale during the first week or two of the year are at a significant advantage. They receive a huge amount of attention from the large number of buyers clamouring to find a new home.

As a result it’s much easier for these early sellers to attract buyers, pull in a number of notes of interest, set a closing date and achieve a great price for their property before most of their competition has even got their for sale board up.

Avoid Getting Lost In The Crowd
The sellers who don’t manage to get their home up for sale during the first couple of weeks of the year will find that they are putting their home on the market at a time when a flood of other properties are coming up for sale.

This means that they’re competing against a much higher level of sellers and there’s a real danger that they will be lost in the crowd. We can see this clearly in the amount of attention that properties receive online. During the first two weeks of January, properties will receive almost 50% more views than during the second two weeks of the month.

It goes without saying that the more potential buyers who see your home, the better your chance of attracting multiple notes of interest allowing you to set a closing date and get a great price for your property.

If you’re thinking of selling a property in 2018, or if you’ve got a question about buying or selling, get in touch today at property@warnersllp.com or by calling 0131 667 0232 and one of our friendly team will be delighted to help.