So, you’ve made the decision to list your home for sale?
A big call that requires a lot of thought and planning.
The next step is making sure you choose the right time of year in order to get the very best price.
By choosing the right time of year to sell your property, this can make a huge difference to both the price you receive and how quickly it sells.
One of the busiest times of year for property sales is spring, with lots of interest coming from both buyers and sellers.
Spring is widely regarded as the ideal time to send your property to market. The warmer weather brings out more buyers and into open homes.
Gardens and lawns tend to look their best during those early warmer months, there’s more daylight and many buyers want to be settled in their new home before summer starts and the busyness of the new school year begins.
Whilst it’s worth considering that if you choose to list your home during spring, you won’t be the only homeowner with the same idea. It is possible that it could get overlooked in an inundated housing market.
Choosing to list during the warmer months may deliver considerably more traffic through your property and perhaps even a higher asking price, it could however, also mean competing with more vendors in your area.
With more houses coming onto the market at that time of year, competition will be high. During winter, there may only be one or two similar properties available in your area, but in spring there may be as many as six to ten.
The timing of your sale is as important as the presentation of your property and the real estate agent you choose.
Gather advice from property experts in your area about how the market is behaving, what changes are expected and what buyers are most focused on.
Examine the number of listings as well as how much homes like yours are listed for. Is the current market in your area oversupplied or under supplied?
If you’ve decided to take the leap and sell this spring, here are some useful tips to help you prepare your home for sale.
Declutter
Get your home ready for the spring sale and:
- Throw out or give away anything you don’t use
- Remove as much from the house as you can
‘Spring’ clean
- Clean glass doors and windows
- Dust the blinds
- Have the carpets professionally cleaned
- Wipe down the cupboards and surfaces
Finish repairs
- Take a walk around the home and see if anything needs repairing
- Consider if the house needs painting, even if only in some sections
- Does timber need re-staining?
Garden glam
- Rake up leaves
- Spruce garden beds with a good weeding
- Prune dead winter growth
- Fertilise lawns and garden beds
- Keep up a steady watering schedule
Styling the house
- Consider having your house professionally styled
- De-personalise spaces – this allows potential buyers to visualise their own belongings
- Refer to magazines and home websites to research latest trends
