Why January is a great time to sell property in Chichester

January is traditionally the month we reflect and make plans for the year ahead. And for many, that means looking for a new home. While spring is thought to be a more popular time to sell, there are significant benefits to putting your home on the market at the start of a new year.

New year, new home

There are endless reasons why you might want to move but have stalled in recent months. A fresh start convinces many buyers to seriously consider what’s out there and figures show that movers want to get going early in 2023. In fact, Rightmove reveals it saw a 20% increase in buyers viewing its site in the week leading up to Boxing Day in 2022, when compared to the same time in 2021.

The figures speak for themselves

Rightmove has previously recorded its busiest month as January and its figures show that in January 2022, the number of buyers enquiring about homes was 15% higher than at the same time the previous year. And since 2020, the portal has continually recorded increasing buyer demand, visits to their site and new listings in the last two weeks of January.

Demand outweighs supply

Some sellers tend to remove their home from the market in the build up to Christmas, especially if it’s been on for a while, as they simply don’t want to accommodate viewings over the festive season. Many of these homes return for sale during the spring and summer months, so the market suddenly becomes saturated at that time of year. It’s therefore much easier to make your home stand out and sell property in Chichester in January as there’s less competition.

Properties sell more quickly in January 

Data from the last few years shows that January is one of the best months to list your home for a faster sale. On average, properties take 60 days to sell in January, compared with 65 days in May and July.

One theory behind this is that potential buyers at this time of year are more likely to be serious; they’re happy to brave the bad weather to look at properties and because the demand outweighs the supply, they’ll want to make an offer more quickly, for fear of losing out. Another benefit to presenting your home to a market of serious potential buyers is that you’re more likely to achieve your asking price.

Parents are motivated to start searching in January

On average, it takes between four to six months to progress from listing a property for sale to legal completion. Therefore, January is the time when parents will be looking at school catchments areas, as they’ll want to make sure they’re moved into a new home by the time applications need to be completed. They’ll also want to be settled in for the start of the summer holidays, so if you’re in a good catchment area, now is the time to seriously consider listing.

Whether you’re looking to sell or buy property in Chichester in 2023, contact our team here at White & Brooks. They will be able to expertly guide you through the process, from start to finish.