January a good month to sell house ??

Pythagorean

We have been advised by an estate agent to put the house up for sale in January, they say it takes a long time to sell, etc, so this is why they want to start early. My reservations about this are as follows ….

The garden is a very big attraction, and it is bleak and dead in January.

I wonder if the estate agents are quiet in January, and therefore it suits them to advise clients to sell this time of year ?

My own feeling would be to put it on the market later, maybe Springtime.

Any thoughts on this matter ??

johnnyskeleton

Mid to late spring is better than January, but January is better than just before christmas.

Edgware

January is a disaster. Short days, dark evenings, extremes of weather, shortage of money.
Once it is gone you are as well to join all the others coming on the market. Looking through all the property sites there is a definite slowdown and you will be waiting for a sale unless you are prepared to accept lower offers

riclad

Janaury is a slow month for the property market,
But if you are in a nice area, or an area close to the city centre you will get some people viewing the house ,depending on the price.
if someone wants to live in a certain area ,and the price is reasonable
they will go and view a house, whether its january or june .

Dolbhad

January is probably the soonest month that’s the best to but the house up Market appears to be quieter at moment and I do think Brexit is having an impact. Then it’s Christmas and people will be too busy to arrange viewings. I’d also assume you would be in same boat. Imagine the manic of Christmas without having to try keep house in show house condition. If you need a quick sale put it in January. If you can wait possibly February.

Do bear in mind exemptions for banks kick in again in new year for some so maybe hays why auctioneer is saying January.

Pythagorean

Thanks for the replies. One problem is that the house is split between 4 of us, and I don't have as much of a free hand in this as I would like. Common sense would seem to indicate a sale when the weather gets better, this is why I was a little wary of the estate agents approach. We definitely do not wish to settle for a low offer. I heard a programme on the radio recently which suggested that there was a glut of houses on the market at the moment, and that competitive bidding was a thing of the past.

Dolbhad

As others have said, it depends. House in good location and/or good state will shift easily with a realistic price. There are a lot of houses at moment and a lot not selling because of the above reasons - mostly because in bad state and way too high asking. Anything else will sell. Only thing to be aware of any new builds in the area. I do find second house market doesn’t rise as much in areas with new builds.

pj12332

I am an agent working in Tallaght. Usually the market usually recovers in September after a quiet August (holidays/kids back in school) but it has not. It has remained slow and usually dies off again in late November. It might be the case that the remainder of the year is quiet.

As I commented on another thread here is an example of current market conditions.

We have a listing in Woodstown and another in The Hardwicke D7. Woodstown property was absolutely beautiful and in an extremely sought after area. But we just had no one turn up for viewings. People apprehensive to spend. It's sale agreed now but took months longer than we would have thought.

On the other hand the apartment in the Hardwicke I listed in August and it actually closed yesterday. The entire sales process was complete in 60 days. That is extremely fast. It was 60 days just to sale agree the Woodstown property. Every property is heterogeneous or unique. It just depends if the timing is right when the right buyer comes along.

With regards to the question of listing in January the same logic applies. It just depends if the timing is right when the right buyer comes along. You should shop around as some agents with list for nothing to test on the market and if you do not get the traction you wanted they will take it off the market and relist again for free at a future date.

With Brexit being delayed again it really is up in the air. As noted above September the market usually kicks back off but it simply has not happened this year. Usually December the market dies and January it's slow to start. But this year with Brexit it's a bit of an anomaly. My suggestion would be to take advantage of an agent who will list and advertise it for free for you now so you can test it.

Paul

boombang

Paul, I usually don't hold estate agents in high regard, but that was a really helpful post.

pj12332

boombang wrote: »

Paul, I usually don't hold estate agents in high regard, but that was a really helpful post.

We are not all bad guys

Dolbhad

That was very helpful Paul! I work in legal (not the conveyance department) and seems to be the same opinion from colleagues there that this season is usually the mad rush before Christmas but has slowed down a lot - probably due to Brexit uncertainty. Think March was the same. Would expect a pickup again if it’s put on the back burner for a few months. Also great point on the timing - not always just an issue of pricing

pj12332

Dolbhad wrote: »

That was very helpful Paul! I work in legal (not the conveyance department) and seems to be the same opinion from colleagues there that this season is usually the mad rush before Christmas but has slowed down a lot - probably due to Brexit uncertainty. Think March was the same. Would expect a pickup again if it’s put on the back burner for a few months. Also great point on the timing - not always just an issue of pricing

Thanks for the kind words. Yes that's my opinion on it. It's all up in the air at the minute. Hopefully things will pick up again soon.

nerrad01

pj12332 wrote: »

Thanks for the kind words. Yes that's my opinion on it. It's all up in the air at the minute. Hopefully things will pick up again soon.

whats supply like at the moment pj, am i right in thinking more people are now trying to sell places they were possibly holding onto while waiting for the prices to rise? looks like things have possibly topped out price wise

riclad

Price,s have fallen slightly, people are worried about brexit,
it will have a negative effect on the economy.
read pj12332 ,s post ,
the market has slowed down.
Prices, are not going up anywhere in ireland.
No agent will refuse to list a house,
no matter what time you call.
They will say the market is slow at a certain time of year.
They know you will just go to another agent.

pj12332

I wouldn't say I've experienced that people are jumping over fences to sell their Homes now that prices have stabilised. We have had a few sales specifically due to that reason but nothing more.

From what I've experienced It has been a quiet few months due to Brexit uncertainty. Both buyers and sellers are fearful of what may happen to house prices and things have just been static more than anything.

From speaking with surveyors and valuers (who would do house inspections/valuations for many different estate agents each week), I have been told that business has also been slow for them.

I think all agents will publicly say business is booming, that's the nature of the game. In reality, my experience has been that things have been quite slow and have not picked back up in late September like they usually do (after schools go back and people get back from holidays).

nerrad01

pj12332 wrote: »

I wouldn't say I've experienced that people are jumping over fences to sell their Homes now that prices have stabilised. We have had a few sales specifically due to that reason but nothing more.

From what I've experienced It has been a quiet few months due to Brexit uncertainty. Both buyers and sellers are fearful of what may happen to house prices and things have just been static more than anything.

From speaking with surveyors and valuers (who would do house inspections/valuations for many different estate agents each week), I have been told that business has also been slow for them.

I think all agents will publicly say business is booming, that's the nature of the game. In reality, my experience has been that things have been quite slow and have not picked back up in late September like they usually do (after schools go back and people get back from holidays).

It will be interesting to see how the continued brexit uncertainty effects the market, especially if the election doesnt go the tories way. Could be looking at quite a prolonging of the this slow down

trigger26

I've a bid in on a house within 9% of asking and they're holding on for more. I know every house sale is unique and they are more than entitled to hold out for more but looking at myhome website price changes, prices are down 8% in my area in last 3 months, not 1 single price increase.

riclad

Its pointless for an agent to say the market is booming when theres
articles on the front page of the papers , house prices falling ,
even if its only by 3 per cent.
Its like saying to a tourist it never rains in ireland ,
no point in buying an umbrella at all .
who wants to pay an agent who tells them lie,s ?

pj12332

At least I haven't told you lies