I had a homeowner from Bloxwich email me the other day. She said she had been following my blog for a while and wanted to pick my brain on when I thought is the best time of the year to sell a property in Walsall. Trying to calculate the best time to put your Walsall property on the market can often seem something akin to witchcraft and whilst I would agree that there are particular times of the year that can prove more productive than others, there are plenty of factors that need to be taken into consideration.

Even if you are putting your property on the market, you don’t know how long it will take to find a buyer. At the moment, for the latest set of figures for all 52 Estate Agents that cover the Walsall area (not including the online), the average length of time it takes to find a buyer for any Walsall property is as follows…

Detached                    110 days

Semi                            75 days

Terraced                     68 days

Flat                              142 days

Average                       98 days

If we roll the clock back to January 2016, the overall average time it took to find a buyer (again using data from all of the 52 Walsall Estate Agents) was 112 days.

So on the face of it, things have improved over the last 10 months or so. Interestingly, when I looked at the data going back to 2009, every Spring since then, the average length of time it takes to sell a property drops between January and the Summer months, for it to rise on the run up to Christmas.

For example:

Winter 2009 – 175 days           Summer 2009 – 143 days

 

and in more recent times:
Winter 2013 – 143 days           Summer 2013  – 121 days

Winter 2014 – 134 days           Summer 2014  – 119 days

Winter 2015 – 127 days           Summer 2015  – 95 days

Coming back to today, even if you placed your property on the market today in Walsall, if it takes you on average a little over nine weeks to find a buyer, then you can expect solicitors and the chain to take an additional eight to twelve weeks after that, before you move. It really comes down to choices as to when you place your property on the market. Children often affect the decision. On one side, you might delay putting that for sale board in your front garden, so you can move in the summer school holidays, but on the other side, you might want to move sooner to be in the catchment area of a preferred school, in plenty of time for the next academic year?

There are times of the year when it is better to sell, and times when waiting a little longer can pay off in the long run. In a nutshell, I would say this “it is the way of the seasons…”

WHEN TO MARKET? 

Spring: Customarily there are more house-buyers as the daffodils begin to show themselves

Summer: Sellers may miss out on house-buyers being on holiday

Autumn: The enthusiasm for buying homes returns

Winter: Interest diminishes as shorter and colder days with a looming festive period approaches

What this means to buyers and landlord investors is that they often pick up a bargain in later months of the year, as there is less competition from owner occupiers. So, whilst there are better months to achieve a quicker sale, the best piece of advice I can give to every home -owner and landlord in Walsall, is do the right thing for yourself and your personal circumstances.  Do your homework; speak to the expert(s) who understand your local market.  Gather all the information to make an educated decision and when you feel confident…buy (and sell) with both your head as well as your heart.

If you are thinking of getting into the property rental market and don’t know where to start, speak to us for impartial advice and guidance to get the best return on your investment. For more information about other potential investment properties that we could introduce you to, or to ask about our thoughts on your own investment choices, call us now on 01922 311016, you can always email me on salekm@ashmorelettings.co.uk.

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