Planning to move in 2024? Tips for sellers and buyers

Paul Travers

We might be entering the usual seasonal slowdown as thoughts turn to a festive break, but there’s still quite a lot going on: we’ve recently agreed sales on homes between £250,000 and £4,000,000 and from London to the sea.

It’s unlikely that more homes will hit the market this side of Christmas, but if you’re planning to move in 2024, give yourself the best shot at success with our moving tips for sellers and buyers.

Recently agreed: Spitalfields Huguenot house

If you’re selling

Get your home valued

There’s a fair amount involved in getting your home on the market: setting your asking price, agreeing a selling strategy, finessing your presentation and finalising your choice of agent. It all takes time, and you’ll be able to make a more considered decision when you don’t feel rushed.

So, we’d suggest getting your home valued now to give yourself plenty of time to research the agents you’d like to meet, hear what they have to say, and pick your perfect selling partner.

Put your house in order

The holiday season provides an excellent opportunity to get your home looking absolutely smashing so you can plan the perfect January launch.

A good estate agent will give you some pointers on where to focus your efforts, whether it’s making minor repairs, touching up paintwork or swapping clutter for calm. You might even be given a shopping list to perfect your look for fabulous photos.

Begin the legal work

If you’ve not sold a property in a while, you might be surprised at how much information you need to supply your estate agent before they’re legally allowed to market your home. It could take you a couple of weeks to put it together, so use that time now.

It’s also worth instructing a solicitor and asking them to send you the Property Information Forms with questions about boundary walls, improvements, guarantees and disputes. These are used to prepare the sales contract, so it’s well worth getting a head start to be ready to roll as soon as you accept an offer.

Recently agreed: seafront townhouse in St Leonards

If you’re buying

Register with agents

Every single year, whether the market is flat or on fire, there’s a massive increase in the number of buyers registering, and most of them do this through property portals like Rightmove.

It’s not the best way to stand out from the crowd, so if you’re serious about buying, contact agents direct. That way, you can strike up a rapport and be remembered, rather than ending up in an ocean of automated emails.

Find your favourite

When you’re speaking to agents, you’ll soon find out who you like the sound of, who listens, and who is most likely to get the kind of home you’re looking for.

So make a shortlist, then make a point of staying in touch every week or two so you’re right at the front of the queue when the perfect home becomes available.

Go for pole position

If you need to sell a property to buy another one, get your existing one on the market as soon as possible to show the estate agents where you want to live that you’re serious about moving.

If you’ll need a mortgage for your next home, get that agreed in principle now, even if you change lenders later, so you can show agents that your finance is in place.

If you’re a cash buyer, you’ll need to clarify whether the money is readily available in a UK bank account, subject to a withdrawal notice period, coming from overseas or tied up in shares or someplace else.