Revealed - the deadline for marketing a home and ‘being in for Christmas’

We’re not sure if agents will agree with this but a high profile consumer group has come up with the final date that it believes a home can be marketed, in time for the vendor to be in their new property by Christmas.

The Homeowners’ Alliance says a vendor must list their property by October 20 at the latest.

The group’s agency comparison service estateagent4me service suggests properties listed in October take an average of 64 days to sell.

These are scarcely typical times but the HOA says that on average since 2015, properties in the UK have stayed on the market for 58 to 73 days. 

Despite the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the data shows the average length of time to sell a property has remained relatively constant over the past six years. 

Overall the speed of sale was slower last year because of the slowdown caused by the pandemic between April and July but the speed of sale accelerated towards the end of 2020 once the housing market reopened and the time-limited stamp duty holiday was introduced.

Commenting on the data, Homeowners Alliance chief executive Paula Higgins says: “2021 has been a chaotic year for buying and selling homes. The rush to buy before the end of the stamp duty holiday deadline in June congested and slowed the home buying process. 

“Thankfully, this autumn will see things return to normal for home movers. Looking back on six years of data, we can see that if you want to sell by Christmas, then you need to get on and do so before 20 October.“