14 Nov 70% of East Anglians would book a property viewing over Christmas
Fixed-fee estate agency Yopa has today revealed, perhaps surprisingly, that December is the ideal time for sellers to put their properties on the market.
A national survey commissioned by Yopa and carried out by Censuswide indicates that Christmas is one of the most popular times for buyers looking for property online.
The research revealed that 1 in 5 people in East Anglia (21%) browse property online during their weekends and days off. This figure rises to 45% over the Christmas holidays.
Christmas is also a popular time for viewing property in the area, with over a quarter of those surveyed in East Anglia (27%) saying they have booked a property viewing in December before and 69% of people in East Anglia saying they would book a viewing between 18th December and 6th January if they saw a property they liked online.
Yopa’s own buyer enquiries remain high over December, with over 1,300 viewing requests in the week preceding Christmas 2018, and almost 1,000 new buyers registering with Yopa in the same week.
This coincides with a seasonal dearth in instructions over the same period, with vendors typically preferring to wait until the New Year to list their properties.
“To achieve the very best price for our vendors, you not only need high levels of demand – you need low levels of supply,” says Yopa’s Regional Director for East Anglia Damien Bracey. “With an influx of buyers actively seeking properties throughout December but stock levels historically low, Christmas is the perfect time to get your property on the market to bring in viewings and competitive offers.”
Yopa’s survey of 1,000 people aged 25-55 across the country, 500 of whom are looking to buy a property over the next five years, also revealed that East Anglians spend on average 1.6 hours a week browsing property online.
The Christmas period is often Rightmove and Zoopla’s busiest season, with Rightmove reporting over 25,000,000 page views on Boxing Day alone.
“We know buyers are using the Christmas break to browse properties online on their swanky new phones and tablets,” says Damien. “If your property photos have been taken in the winter, it’s clear that your home is fresh to the market. This will stand it in good stead against those local properties with gardens in full bloom, still languishing on the portals after months of marketing.”
“We’ve launched our “‘Tis the season” marketing campaign and £100 discount to encourage those prospective vendors who are hanging about waiting for the New Year to act now,” explains Damien.
