March into March – the best month to sell a home!
Rightmove has drawn on its data to reveal what is the best month to sell your home – and the answer is March!
As we unfurl from winter, Springtime seems to kickstart lots of new activity for many of us. Longer and warmer often see many of us redecorating, sprucing up the garden, or indeed considering a house move.
Rightmove’s research over the past five years* has revealed that more people start their search for a new home in spring than any other season, and, rather handily, it’s also the time we see more properties come to market.
Why is March the best time to sell?
From crunching its data, Rightmove has revealed that the number of people looking on the site is usually highest at this time of year and competition between buyers for the homes available is traditionally at its peak.
With more homes being put on the market too, there are usually more homes to choose from and the property portal has revealed that more homes are being listed for sale this year compared with last year.
Things like gardens and outdoor space are at the top of many home-movers wish-lists as people hope to be in their new home for summer and Autumn to enjoy them.
Co-Director at Samuel Wood, Russell Griffin, said: “You could well have a better chance of selling if you are thinking of putting your home on the market and by doing it sooner, because more buyers are looking to move and there’s more competition for every available home.”
“We understand that some sellers might be mindful of coming to market at a time when the number of new listings has traditionally been high. They might be concerned that their property would be ‘one of many’,” said Co-Director, Andrew Cadwallader.
"But the Rightmove data shows us that this demand in March means sellers are most likely to be met with a potential buyer for their home. Many buyers have been holding off looking because of a lack of available stock, so this month we should start to really see things get moving,” he added.
How to be in the best position to buy when you find the ‘one’
If you’re looking to buy, there are lots of things you can do to get yourself ready, including:
- - checking recent sold prices in the areas you're home-hunting in
- - setting up property alerts
- - and getting a Mortgage in Principle in place.
Read Rightmove’s step-by-step guide to buying a home here.
Another piece of guidance is to make sure your home is on the market, or preferably sold subject to contract, before starting your property search.
This is because many sellers will want to know if their buyers have sales already agreed on their homes.
If you have a home to sell, you can find out how much your home might be worth for free in a few seconds using our valuation tool here. And above all, always go with a Propertymark protected agent.
For any further help and advice, please visit our website or feel free to call us on 01743 272710.
*Research excludes 2020 due to the pandemic