As March arrives and spring begins, new research from Rightmove has revealed that sellers looking to sell their property in the next few months could not have picked a better season to list. According to data from the portal, the spring months of March, April and May are the strongest to sell, respectively.

Here at Ideal Locations, we explain below exactly why spring is an opportune time to sell and how sellers can get their property sale-ready in the spring months.

What did the research discover?

For its research, Rightmove compared home-moving data over the last five years, excluding 2020 to account for the closed market periods. Its findings revealed March to be the strongest month to sell as that’s when the highest number of buyers are enquiring about each property available on average.

Why is spring an ideal time to sell?

Spring is usually regarded as the peak point for selling and Rightmove’s findings reinforce this as they found that March, April and May are the best months to sell. March is the strongest month for would-be sellers with April in second place and March coming in third. March sees buyer competition at its fiercest as this month has the highest numbers of new listings and buyer enquiries, therefore giving sellers a strong chance of selling their home.

As the weather gets hotter, so does the property market, with around 75% of all properties successfully finding a buyer compared to a historical average of around half. Houses are finding buyers in an average of 39 days, a considerably shorter time than an average of 59 days over the last five years.

This year’s spring surge has already started to gather momentum, with new home listings increasing by 11% and buyer demand also on the up by 32% in the last three weeks compared to the same period last year. According to Rightmove, home valuation requests to estate agents have also seen a 27% rise in the last three weeks compared to the same period last year.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, comments: “Spring has long been known as a peak point in the housing market calendar, with many buyers and sellers trying to get into a new home for the summer months. However, this interesting study confirms that for those considering selling this year, March has historically been the best time to come to market on average."

Bannister continues: “For any sellers who might be conscious of coming to market at a time when the number of new listings has traditionally been high, the data shows us that the level of demand in March means sellers are likely to be met with multiple potential buyers competing for their home.”

How sellers can get their property sale-ready in spring

Sellers in East London and Essex, which are areas we cover, can also benefit from a prosperous housing market. House prices in Redbridge, where we are based, witnessed an annual house price growth of £30,000 in 2021. Ilford, where one of our offices is located, has also been earmarked as an upcoming area, which is likely to see house prices benefit from the opening of Crossrail.

East London has also witnessed a house price boost from the legacy of the London Olympics, with Barking and Dagenham, Newham and Tower Hamlets all seeing property prices rocket.

So, sellers in East London and Essex can benefit from a booming property market and seasonal uplift. Sellers looking to sell their property in the spring should focus on outside areas such as gardens. According to Rightmove, buyer searches for gardens rocketed by 70% in January compared to January two years ago, as more people look for outdoor space as we enter spring.

Sellers can spruce up their gardens in many ways by mowing the lawn, de-weeding or going all out and getting professionals in for landscaping. Sellers should also ensure their outdoor spaces are clean and tidy, and this can be done by washing the patio and clearing away garden waste. What’s more, you should also draw attention to features such as barbecue areas and ponds.

Here at Ideal Locations, we are an award-winning estate agency based in Ilford and cover areas in East London and Essex. We can help to manage the sale of your property and you can find out more about us here. You can also contact us here to find out more about our services.