Getting started with selling your property
The market in the home counties is less seasonal than many other parts of the UK, and we register new buyers every day of the week. In fact, not so long ago we sold a lovely home to a couple who made their inquiry through our website portal on Christmas Day!
However, Spring is naturally one of the busiest periods and why wouldn't it be? All of our gardens come to life, and longer days seem to make everything feel more cheerful and brighter. Early autumn can also be particularly active.
However, the best time to sell depends as much on your personal circumstances, the type of property and local market conditions as it does on the season. The key thing is to leave plenty of time to find the right buyer at the right price and put yourself in the strongest position to secure your next home.
Consider three things: your reason for moving, whether you can realistically achieve the price you need, and whether suitable properties are likely to be available for your onward move.
Market conditions matter but trying to predict the absolute top or bottom of a property cycle is impossible. You’ll never know that a market has reached its peak or trough until after the event.
If you are selling and buying in the same market, timing is often irrelevant.
There are really two timescales: finding a buyer and completing the legal transaction afterwards.
A correctly priced property in a good market might find a buyer within days after competitive bidding. However, Rightmove reports that the average time scale is between 60-81 days, depending on the time of year. At Ashtons, our average, based on over 500 Hertfordshire sales, is 31 days*.
Once an offer is accepted, conveyancing commonly takes several months. Government guidance currently says the overall selling process takes around five months on average, although straightforward transactions can be considerably quicker and complex chains longer. If you sell through Ashtons and use our Assured Move product, you'll halve the time between agreeing a sale and moving home, currently, we average 39 days to being exchange-ready and 62 days from sale agreed to actual exchange**.
*Data sample: 500 properties, 2025/2026.
**Data sample: 35 properties, 2025/2026.
You do not necessarily need to have completed your sale, but being on the market, or ideally having an agreed buyer, usually puts you in a much stronger position when you find a property you want to buy.
A seller may be reluctant to accept an offer from somebody whose own property is not yet on the market, particularly if they have interest from buyers who are ready to proceed.
Act quickly. Arrange your valuation and marketing and explain your position openly to the agent selling the property you want to buy. If you're selling with Ashtons, we'll help by jumping on the phones and letting people know about your property before it's even photographed.
Becoming proceedable as quickly as possible gives you the best chance of securing the property.
A proceedable buyer is someone in a position to move forward with a purchase. This might be a first-time buyer, cash buyer or someone who already has an agreed buyer for their existing home.
Sellers will often consider the strength of a buyer’s position alongside the amount they have offered.
Typical costs include estate agency fees, conveyancing fees, removal costs and potentially mortgage redemption or early repayment charges. You may also incur costs obtaining documents, certificates or dealing with issues that arise during conveyancing.
If the property is not your principal home, Capital Gains Tax may also need to be considered.
Often the biggest cost, though, can be on your purchase (dependent on purchase price) for stamp duty.
Your solicitor will normally repay the outstanding mortgage from the sale proceeds on completion.
If you are buying another property, your lender may allow you to “port” your existing mortgage, although this is normally subject to a fresh assessment of you and the new property.
