If you’re thinking of selling your property in 2021, our advice is to de-Christmas as soon as possible – maybe even pare back what’s on display today – and come to market right now.
No, we haven’t lost our minds but the seasonal spike in property searching can’t be missed. Rightmove has a wonderful bank of statistics that show just how many movers look online at property over the festive period and into January.
Holidays & houses
Year after year, the property portal announces a record-breaking number of users choosing to browse listings when they should be playing charades or pulling crackers. Take 2018 for instance – property searches doubled over Christmas and New Year. Even on Christmas Day itself, there were 10 million page visits, rising to around 30 million on Boxing Day.
Why is there such a seasonal trend? Anecdotal evidence suggests that many people naturally search for homes online when they get a new mobile device, such as an iPhone or tablet. After all, looking at properties and house prices is one of the nation’s favourite pastimes! Others believe a house crammed full over Christmas (or perhaps not so much in 2020), heightens a lack of space, pushing people to look for a new home with more bedrooms or a larger living room, perhaps.
A resolution to move
The Christmas figures, however, are dwarfed by those noted in January 2020 – the month Rightmove claimed to be its busiest ever. Visitors passed the 150 million mark for the first time – up 12% compared to January 2019. For those who love fine details, the top five busiest days for traffic on Rightmove were all between 21st and 29th January, with the most traffic on Wednesday 29th January. It really is a case of ‘New Year, new home’.
You haven’t left it too late
So while it may feel natural to hold off marketing your property until the New Year, sellers may miss out on a quick sale and hundreds of potential buyers who are using the season of good will to start planning their next move. It takes an estate agent a matter of hours to book a visit, take photographs and get a property listed online. Even now, with a matter of days before Christmas, it’s not too late to start the process and catch the surge in online traffic.
Post-Christmas push
For those set on having a full-blown Christmas, with all the trimmings, tinsel and turkey proudly on display, you can still make the most of the dormant period between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve in readiness for the January rush. It’s actually the perfect time to contact your estate agent.
Tuck away that tinsel
There is a word of advice. Christmas decorations will pinpoint when your home came to market and let’s be fair, not many people will want to see gaudy garlands and bright baubles come January 2021. Pack away as many decorations as you can bear before photography takes place or, at the bare minimum, only leave things you can easily slide out of view or hide away.
Read, steady….start!
With millions of people online over Christmas – maybe looking for a home just like yours – don’t hold back if you’re thinking of selling. If conditions are favourable, you may even be able to sell and buy within the stamp duty holiday for savings of up to £15,000. Let’s get started – get in touch today.