It's the most wonderful time of the year… to start a property sale

The new year is coming, which tends to spark new dreams for home buyers. Get ahead of the curve to catch their attention.

The Foxtons webpages for?property for sale?and?property for rent?tend to get a bump in traffic as people browse over their holiday break, and we often see more viewing requests in the new year. After all, it’s the holiday season, where we get together with family and friends, look back on the year and discuss all the possibilities that 2023 has to offer.

Going into the 2023 market

2022 has been an incredibly busy year for the house market, and property was in?high?demand. However, buyers have begun to pause and reassess their timelines these last few months, due to politics, the cost of living and mortgage rates affecting affordability.

We have need-based buyers who are keen to transact, consistent demand from international buyers and ever-present limitations keeping London’s property supply low. So, the market remains a lot more stable here than in other parts of the UK. It’s never a?bad?time to sell in London. But because buyers may be less urgent to make a quick purchase next year, you may have to factor in more time to find the right buyer.?If you want to get in on the New Year rush, you'll benefit from planning ahead.

Issues like affordability may affect certain areas more or less than others, so an agent’s professional understanding of the local market will be especially important to your sale in the new year. To give it the best possible start, first and foremost,?book a valuation.

Why choose a home valuation

A valuation isn’t only about learning what an agent could achieve for your property in the current market. For a?Foxtons valuation, you’ll be meeting an experienced valuer with a professional knowledge of the local market. They can provide reliable answers to your questions on the process, the market, your next steps and more.

Besides a valuation, you can plan ahead with:

Your own survey

If you aren’t quite ready to sell, a property survey will give you an overview of your property’s potential pitfalls, so you can choose what to leave, fix or factor into the asking price before putting your property on the market. Buyers are traditionally the ones to schedule a property survey, but as we describe in?Who can arrange a property survey?, it’s not a bad idea to be proactive. A buyer won’t book a survey until they’re serious about the property, so this saves you from any last-minute surprises in that later stage of a property sale. Also, this may build trust with buyers and speed the sale along.

A Sale-Ready Pack

Our partners at?Conveyan?have a pack that helps you sort and organise your documents, so your property will be Sale Ready right when you need it to be. Instructing a solicitor at the beginning of your sale also means they can prepare things like requesting your land registry document right away. If you instruct Conveyan and fill out their?Sale-Ready Pack, they may be able to submit the contract on the same day you accept an offer.

Read more about preparing documents in?the documents you’ll need to sell a house.

A good tidy

If we’ve got all the documents from you in place, we can start property viewings as soon as we get the keys. We notify buyers who’ve registered with My Foxtons whenever a property we expect they’ll be interested in hits the market. Foxtons will also quickly arrange a professional property photographer to take pictures, so we can create a winning property ad.

To prepare for viewings and photography, you’ll want to clean, declutter and do any repainting you’ve been meaning to. Tidying is the easy, yet highly important thing you can do for your property sale – hiding the bins for outdoor pictures, tucking away coats and shoes in the front hall, removing the extra shampoos and body washes from the shower, storing that stack of post in the office, keeping the kitchen counters clean for viewings… Read?7 tips for great photos that generate more viewings?for more information.

At Foxtons, We Get It Done

The best way to start a successful 2023 property sale is to talk to an agent who knows the local market and can direct you to everything you need to start your sale off right. Take the first step:?find your local Foxtons office,?book a free valuation?or?book a call-back.