The Clive Emson team often speaks with prospective sellers concerned about timings – both the speed at which they can sell their house and whether now is an optimal time to proceed.
So what is the best time to put a house on the market? Conventionally, homes tend to sell fastest during the spring across the full scope of the property market, but the reality is that you can sell at any time that is convenient and aligns with your plans.
We'll look at some general guidelines that may be useful if you have the flexibility to sell your home at any point in the coming year. However, property auctions are held year-round and continue to attract strong interest throughout, without the distinct peaks and troughs primarily linked to residential homebuyers.
Key Takeaways: Best time to put your house on the market
- While spring (March especially) sees the quickest sales, selling at any convenient time aligning with plans is viable.
- Certain months, like August, may experience slower activity due to holidays, impacting buyer availability, in traditional routes of sale
- However, the period from mid-January to June tends to be more active.
- There's no guarantee of selling faster or for a higher value by delaying the sale.
- Unlike traditional sales, auctions attract consistent interest year-round from diverse buyers, such as investors and developers.
Now is a great time to sell at auction!
Let us know the details of your property and we’ll provide you with our recommendations for the guide price and reserve price
Why is March a popular month for house sales?
March is one of the most popular months for selling property, largely due to buyer behaviour and seasonal timing.
Families make up a significant proportion of the property market, and they tend to plan well in advance. For many, the motivation to move is academic, such as securing a home within the catchment area of a preferred school. Buying in March allows families plenty of time to complete the purchase, move in, and settle before the new school year begins.
This also aligns with the wider trend of increased activity across the property market during spring and early summer, when buyer confidence and demand typically rise.
Another factor is financial readiness. During late summer and winter, households often face higher outgoings, including holidays and seasonal expenses. By March, these costs are usually behind them, meaning many buyers have improved cash flow or savings available to put towards a property purchase.
From a seller’s perspective, March is also a more practical time to bring a property to market. Winter can make renovations and maintenance more challenging, with weather-related delays and limited contractor availability. As conditions improve at the start of the year, work is easier to complete, timelines are more reliable, and properties can be presented at their best.
All of these factors combine to make March an attractive and effective time to sell
What is the worst time to sell a house at auction?
There is no single “bad” time to sell a house in the UK, as property will always sell at the right price. However, there are clear seasonal patterns that affect buyer demand, speed of sale, and achievable prices.
Generally weaker months to sell a house in the UK
December
The run-up to Christmas is typically the quietest period. Buyers are focused on holidays, finances, and family commitments, which leads to fewer viewings and slower decision-making.
January
Early January often remains slow. Although some motivated buyers are active, cold weather, short daylight hours, and post-Christmas finances can reduce overall demand.
Late November
Late autumn can be challenging, with fewer new buyers entering the market and longer average selling times reported in many years.
August
While not always the worst, August can be unpredictable. School holidays and summer travel mean fewer active buyers, particularly for family homes.
Why these periods tend to underperform
- Reduced buyer attention due to holidays and seasonal priorities
- Fewer viewings and slower offer timelines
- Weather and daylight affecting presentation and viewing flexibility
A note on auctions
Property auctions operate differently from the traditional open market and are less affected by seasonality. Auctions attract motivated buyers year-round and can be particularly effective in slower months, for properties that need refurbishment, investment stock, or where speed and certainty are important.
Does the Time of Year Really Make a Difference When Selling a House?
The reason that many property professionals will suggest specific months or seasons when you should sell it is that there are times when buyers purchasing a home to live in are less likely to be actively looking – or have the time to schedule viewings.
However, as always, this commonly accepted wisdom doesn't apply across the board, nor does it mean you can automatically expect to sell faster or for a higher value by delaying putting your property up for sale.
What is the best time to sell a House at Auction?
As we’ve mentioned, auctions work somewhat differently from the open market, partly because a proportion of buyers are not looking for a residential home they want to live in. While there are certainly homebuyers and DIY enthusiasts who browse lots that come up for sale at auction, many auction buyers are property professionals, including:
Investors
Developers
Renovation experts
Professional landlords
Private purchasers
Auction buyers provide stable levels of interest and demand year-round and are far less influenced by holiday seasons. Instead, they might engage with all auctions held by their preferred auctioneer or remain on a mailing list and decide to register for each auction where there is a lot that meets their objectives.
Buyers looking for houses at auction also have varying priorities. They might, for instance, be interested in homes with great renovation potential where they can add value or look for flats or houses that could be converted in areas with strong rental demand.
Why Ddoes it Take Longer to Sell a House During the Winter?
Typically, sellers are informed that putting a property up for sale in the winter will likely mean they need to wait until the spring to see a decent number of viewings or expressions of interest from buyers. They might also assume that they should postpone their sale to avoid a property languishing on the market for several months before activity picks up again. Remember, regardless of when an auction property is sold with Clive Emson Auctioneers, the sale must complete within 20 working days.
The average number of days it takes to sell a property by private treaty looks like this, based on the date of the initial listing through to confirmation that the property has been sold subject to contract or is under offer:
Month of the Year | Average Number of Days Taken to Sell a House |
January | 62 days |
February | 60 days |
March | 57 days |
April | 58 days |
May | 60 days |
June | 62 days |
July | 64 days |
August | 65 days |
September | 67 days |
October | 72 days |
November | 79 days |
December | 71 days |
Auctions are held on a regular (often bi-monthly) basis and with consistent intervals. These gaps give auctioneers sufficient time to conduct appraisals, consult with sellers, collate property particulars and legal documentation, and create a gallery or video gallery for buyers to review.
While selling during the winter isn’t considered the norm elsewhere, there is no potential for an auction sale to be similarly delayed. The process remains the same regardless of the month, where the successful buyer remits the deposit on the day the auction closes, making the transaction binding and securing the lot.
From there, the auctioneer and your solicitor will manage the legal aspects of the sale, with most auction sellers completing the process and receiving their funds in as little as four to six weeks.
What do our auctioneers say?
Timing is crucial in the art of selling property, but true success lies not in the season, but in the alignment of your plans. If it makes sense to sell just before Christmas then do so. The timing is often dedicated by the ongoing purchase or plans for the property after it’s purchased or sold.
Sam Kinloch
What Factors Impact the Time It Will Take to Sell My House?
The property market fluctuates according to supply and demand. In periods where there is high demand, and lots of buyers are looking for houses of a certain size or in a specific area, sellers will normally be able to sell faster because they will attract higher volumes of interest.
During low-demand periods, the opposite applies – even if the property is listed in the middle of spring, it may prove tricky to sell quickly because there are simply fewer buyers searching for a home.
These variables are also impacted by others, such as the economy and price rises, which can mean some buyers postpone their plans or decide to stall a purchase while saving a higher deposit to respond to higher average property prices or borrowing costs.
Selling at auction is an excellent way to step away from these time and price pressures and list your home with confidence that there is a high certainty of achieving a sale at a reasonable price, irrespective of how the wider market is performing and the time at which you choose to sell.
The ongoing competition between professional buyers and demand for properties in key areas offers a regular pool of interested buyers, giving sellers the assurance that they can proceed at any point that is convenient and meets their requirements – without unnecessary delays.
