Property news: New home by Christmas? You have until next week to start the process

Properties listed for sale in October have taken an average of 65 days to sell over the past two years, according to estate agent comparison website EstateAgent4Me. 

This suggests that home owners who want a sale agreed this side of Christmas should be looking to list their house for sale by this Tuesday, October 17, it said. 

This would mean that, based on average selling times, they could hope to sell it by Friday, December 22 – the last working day before Christmas. 

Those wanting a speedy selling process may want to consider waiting until after Christmas and listing their property in January.

Last year, homes listed for sale in January took 51 days to sell on average – the fastest selling time seen for any month in 2016. 

In 2015, January and July were the joint fastest selling months to put a property on the market. 

Paula Higgins, chief executive of HomeOwners Alliance which runs the EstateAgent4Me website, said: “Lots of home sellers set themselves a deadline of the end of the year to sort a sale. 

“So if they want to settle in the festive season feeling relaxed, they need to put their properties on the market within the next week.”