The answer is NO according to Rightmove who say that the number of daily visits to their website by those looking for a houses for sale doubles over the winter holiday period.

This is partly as a result of there being more time to surf the net but it’s also when people tend to reflect on the year that’s ending and look ahead at their plans for the following one. For some, moving house is a big part of their New Year’s resolutions.

The number of viewings taking place during December and January tends to be less than at other times in the year. However, those buyers who are prepared to venture out on a cold wet, winter’s day when house hunting might not be the most enticing of prospects, are often the most serious and effective buyers. Indeed, we have even agreed sales on Christmas Eve!

Agents will often have one or two properties on their books which are not visible on the usual property portals but are available to buy. This is usually because the house owners would rather sell on a more discreet basis. Over the winter months there’s a generally held assumption that there are fewer buyers around and so sellers whose homes have been on the market for a little while will sometimes ask their agents to put their properties in the ‘bottom drawer’ so as to avoid them becoming ‘stale’ although they are still want to move.

It is true that there are normally fewer viewings during the winter months but actually those that do take place can be more effective. After all, buyers who venture out on a cold, miserable winter’s day tend to be serious, genuine purchasers and indeed, we have agreed sales on Christmas Eve. In 2016, despite it being the year of the Brexit referendum, the last quarter of that year was by far our busiest for arranging sales.

This winter, we are seeing a larger number of houses going under the counter as a result of the general election and Brexit impasse with vendors waiting to see how the political situation resolves itself. Rather than just relying on what they see on Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket etc., prospective buyers are therefore advised to make a point of contacting agents directly to ask whether they have any suitable houses which are not being featured on the property websites. They might just unearth what they’re looking for!

The idea of selling your current property can be a daunting one whether it’s the first time you have done so, it’s been many years since you last moved or even if it is something you have some experience at. HM Government has produced a sensible ‘How to Sell’ guide with some useful information on how to go about putting your home on the market and the sales process.

It sets out the steps involved in anticipation of putting a property on the market including –

• Understanding your finances
• Preparing the necessary paperwork
• Anti-money laundering checks
• Getting your home ‘sale ready’
• Selling a leasehold property
• Valuations & price
• Specialist situations such as selling a rented property, probate sales, retirement properties and power of attorney sales

The guide then goes on to advise how to choose an estate agent and what factors you should consider. Similarly, there is also a paragraph about instructing a legal professional who will carry out the conveyancing work for you.

There’s a section on the marketing of your property and how to show it, choosing a buyer, accepting an offer and what to do if offers are not forthcoming. Once a sale is agreed, the guide offers advice on dealing with enquiries, further negotiations, dealing with problems such as chain issues and then getting to an exchange of contracts.

The final part of the sale process includes choosing a removal company, preparing for the move between exchange and completion, what happens on the moving day itself and things to organise post move.

The guide also explains how to deal with any complaints, lists organisations that provide additional help and a useful glossary of property and conveyancing related terms.

Click on the link How to sell a home to download a copy of the guide

Living off the A303 is the place to be according to a recent Country Life article (linked below). Madeleine Silver writes about the villages situated off this major trunk road linking London with Devon & Cornwall. Charlie Graham of Rural View contributes to this piece with his thoughts about the property market in South Wiltshire West of Stonehenge.
Rural View are currently marketing Church Cottage, a pretty thatched cottage with a large garden and fabulous views tucked away at the end of a lane in Winterbourne Stoke; www.ruralview.co.uk .

Rural View may not be the largest or indeed the most widely known estate agency covering the South Wiltshire/North Dorset area but we are the best when it comes to attracting interest in our clients’ properties.

This claim is borne out by our clients’ homes being the most viewed properties in our patch on Rightmove, the UK’s most widely used property portal. During the year 1st July 2018 to 30th June 2019 in the 12 post code sectors forming the Salisbury, Shaftesbury, Warminster area and beyond, the average frequency each property on the market was viewed in detail, i.e. when it was clicked on in a search list, was 46 times per day. Rural View’s vendors’ homes in the same period were looked at in detail 112 daily making us the Number One performing agency, attracting 25 more views per property per day than our nearest rival.

With property buyers now house hunting almost exclusively online, it is vital to tap into the digital audience when selling a property which is why we are so pleased that the homes we market generate so many hits.

The reason for this success is partly down to our being fortunate in being asked to market some particularly desirable houses but also down to the quality of our image led marketing material including good looking photographs and professionally drawn floor plans.

However, it is still hugely important to carry out the traditional part of an estate agent’s role of providing clients with honest, sensible advice throughout the property selling process and to do this in a friendly yet courteous and professional matter. Rural View have established a fine reputation for the high standard of service we provide with many new clients coming to us by way of personal recommendation.

If you are thinking of selling or are just after some property related advice, give Charlie or Mark a call on 01722 716895.