Should we wait until September before putting our house on the market?

[MimPimMim]

Had my house (North Surrey) valued last week. Three agents, all agreed on the same value for the house (slightly lower than we had hoped for, but unsurprising as the market isn’t as buoyant as it used to be). We love our house (agents all agreed that it was well presented, doesn’t need anything doing it etc.) but want to move to area we really love. So, no real push factors and no massive urgency (i.e. we don’t have to move right now).

All three agents also said that because we want to move, rather than need to move, that we should wait rather than put it on the open market. Two said to go on their books and market to their database but not go online, to avoid a footprint if it doesn’t sell. The other said we’d be mad to market now at all and he’d advise waiting until September (especially as the area we want to move to is good to buy in over the winter).

I think we’re inclined to wait as we’d been wondering about timings due to the market right now - part of the reason for getting valuations was to understand this better but I was surprised that all the agents were so bearish. But I’d value other people’s opinions? Thank you!

I'd put it on the market now if prices were lower than you were expecting then that means any house you buy will be lower too.

Waiting till September risks prices increasing.

As long as you’re buying and selling in the same market, it shouldn’t make much difference the month to avoid is August people view in July but then do nothing for the whole of August because of holidays
Mainly solicitors holidays and then they start actioning everything in September which may or may not bother you
As long as it’s done and dusted in time for Christmas

Thanks both - the estate agents seemed to be making the point that there are far less buyers than sellers at the moment so waiting might open us up to a bigger pool of potential buyers? So less waiting because of price and more to see if there is more demand.

Increases / decreases are often percentage based. So if you’re buying something more expensive it’d be better to sell / buy when the market is down. If you’re downsizing or buying something cheaper then you could wait til the market increases. Say your home is worth £500k today and the house you like is worth £700k today and prices rise by say 10% by Sept then you’d expect £550k for yours (so an extra £50k) but would need to pay £770k (an extra £70k) for your new home. This assumes that the area you’re in and are moving to have similar increases.

It’s a possibility, but it very much depends on what our orange friend in the US does next
I don’t think I could live my life that way
Somebody will always need to buy a house and somebody will always need to sell one
You could put it on for a couple of weeks see what happens and if you don’t get at least a handful of viewers in the first two weeks pull it off it’s not gonna happen

They sound crazy. How can you sell if your house isn’t even on. It’s spring, lots of houses coming on where I am. God I’m hoping we aren’t still looking by September! That’s getting too close to Xmas for me.

I think if you want to sell you should put it on the market. We sold within a couple of days of going on the market. Waiting just risks some other economic hiccup slowing you down. I also think houses/gardens often look better in summer so listing in September means viewings when it’s raining and also when you’re trying to get yourself ready for Christmas.

If minimal interest you need to be off rightmove for something like 16 weeks to come up as a new property so you could come off, wait for that and relist.

Considerations:
Are there any other properties similar to yours for sale in the area?
What are they on for?
Have they been sold?
If not have their prices been reduced more than once?
How long have they been for sale for?

If your property is the only similar one, in that price range, for sale at any tiime and not sold, do not put yours on the market.

If yours is a house that is different (Number of bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen layout, garden size, etc) to all the others on the market then price it in an average or lower price and see what happens within 4 weeks. After that it is stale and you will have to accept a lower price or drop out of the market for a long time.

I find it rally baffling that three agents have told you to hold off. The only conclusion I can come to is maybe you get fewer time wasters come September, because who still wants to be dealing with legal stuff over xmas? Or maybe they think there are going to be many iterations of your house coming to the market around about now, and they want you to have less competition?

I think I would be giving them the Spanish inquisition to find out their reasoning, rather than just taking a chance that they are right.

It's hit and miss whether I can get out of my village for viewings from Sept-Feb, so I really avoid looking during those times. I was monitoring the market though, and there was a noticeable slow down of large properties coming to the market during those months in 25/6. It was pretty dire tbh.

I think well presented and well maintained houses that are also sensibly priced will sell at any time of the year.

The market is dead atm, due to houses being way overpriced.
Do they think it’ll be picking up by Sept? That’s the first I’ve heard if that’s the case.
Definately ask them why they’re advising holding off til then.

Why September?

I also don’t understand the September thing - rhe market is very slow, and I haven’t read anything to suggest it might pick up in September.

I also find it odd that three agents said the same thing. Unless your financial situation is that you need top dollar to move. If that is your situation then it would make sense, in thier eyes at least, as there is no point in wasting time and money marketing a property that you know you can't get the sellers needed price for.... You mentioned that you were disappointed in the valuations. The valuations will have been at the higher end - or considerably over what they really expect you to get offers at. Thats almost a given at the moment unless your house has some really good usp's.
As others have mentioned if you are upsizing its in your interests to wait anyway. If houses are selling at 10% lower by September (which seems possible) then you will save money overall.
If your downsizing then the situation is reversed. You need to sell asap as the transaction will just become more expensive if prices soften.

Assuming the last line is humour? Made me laugh anyway.

I would get it listed as soon as possible. We potentially have another rate increase and tax grab increase coming for defence both of which will depress the market even more.

Why would demand pick up in September?

Doubt anything will change between now and September. Most people want to be in their new homes by September - August is the busiest month for completions - even if they don’t have kids September is a big psychological ‘start’. I’d get it on asap.

The market in my area is not dead at all. DP sold early march - 12 viewings 6 asking price offers and sealed bids. My house sold mid March first viewer after 2 days on the market asking price offer. Totally depends on your area, good marketing and pricing.

Where are you moving to? Where we are looking in rural Devon all the new stock tends to come on in Spring and tends to get taken off over winter so if we waited until then there would be nothing to choose from.

What is the obsession with being done by Christmas? You can have Christmas in whatever house you are in 😂

There used to be more seasonality I think. The peak times were always in March, April annd May and before the school holidays. Then during the summer things would go quiet until everyone was back and there would be a flurry in September before Xmas.
Since circa 2008 that cycle isn’t quite so rigid. Personally I would prefer to be on the market now and get all
my pictures done in sunshine and get viewers in when the weather is good.

It’s difficult op’isn’t it? People are hesitating because there’s talk of a crash and bc of all the uncertainty about fuel prices etc.

The trouble is though that when there are fewer houses on the market, you may have more chance of selling! I know two families who want to move atm and there is just nothing for sale where they want to be.

I ended up back on the market in September last year after my chain broke after six months in August. I did sell it quite quickly again - I eventually moved out at the beginning of March this year - so something to be wary of, that you would be lucky to move before Xmas - I found that conveyancing was pretty much at a standstill in December as they focus on properties that will complete before Xmas and there is a cut off around mid December when all completions need to be done. Personally I would put the house on now as the market is very fragile. When I was selling in my village in North Bucks there were typically c18 houses on the market - now there is 36 so houses are very much sticking around alot longer.

They have been talking about a crash since 2001. I remember buying my house for 67 500 and being told that I’d massively overpaid for a three bedroom semi detached with a garage two minute walk from the station.
And I did worry I panicked that I wouldn’t ever be able to be able to pay for this terrible Mortgage that was twice my annual salary
If there is going to be a crash, it would’ve happened by now
Even 2008 wasn’t that bad