Reasons to list your home for sale before Christmas

The festive season is the busiest time of the year for online property searches and the most recent figures by Rightmove show that 40 million homes were viewed on Boxing Day in 2018, three times higher than on a typical day. Property websites used to report that festive property surfers were searching for a luxury city pad or period-featured rural retreat but that has changed.

The majority of people want a practical modern property that needs little maintenance. A three-bedroom house is the most popular search criteria, followed by a two-bedroom apartment for those looking to get on to the housing ladder.

If you want to take advantage of this regular surge in buyer activity and your house isn’t on the market yet, it’s not too late to get the ball rolling. It couldn’t be easier to request a free valuation with Mustard now and if you haven’t made up your mind whether to list or not, here are some benefits of getting your home on the market before Christmas:

• The few days after Christmas are perfect for reflecting on what you want for the future and Boxing Day is when people start their initial look for properties for sale.

• New-builds are highly sought after. The pandemic has made families re-think their lifestyle and many want to free up their leisure time rather than spending time and money on doing up an old property. Plus, modern properties save on maintenance bills and heating costs. A more efficient Energy Performance Certificate rating can cut £500 from annual heating bills.

• Couples with young families are doing most of the Boxing Day searching. Concerns over Brexit mean a top state school nearby is increasingly important and Towcester and Milton Keynes both have great primary and secondary school options, especially the Ofsted outstanding Sponne School in Towcester. Families are under time pressure to move as local authorities do not usually consider an application for a school place until the buyer has exchanged contracts.

• The East Midlands has seen growing interest among buyers over the past year and house hunting figures for Christmas 2020 could break all previous records. With people restricted to small gatherings and even more time cooped up at home, searching for a new property may take on an even greater urgency.

• Sellers already on the market will also benefit from a significant level of interest in their property over Christmas and New Year. The National Association of Estate Agents says that the highest demand for buying new homes is between January and March.

• If buyers want to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday they have no time to lose in finding their perfect property as all transactions must be completed by 31 March 2021.

• As the Covid-19 vaccination program rolls out in the UK the general mood in the country is becoming more optimistic about life returning to normal. This optimism will give the housing market a boost going into 2021.

At Mustard we have adapted to the new Covid-safe guidelines and are proud to have continued taking the hassle out of your home sale in 2020.

Whether you are an existing Mustard customer or are considering appointing us in the future, we would like to wish you a peaceful Christmas and healthy and happy New Year 2021. Our team are working until 23 December and would love to hear from you if you would like help making a smooth home move in 2021.

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