Many people mistakenly put off buying or selling a property until after the New Year, but according to Rightmove now could be a great time to bag a buyer, or a bargain property.

The property portal said that buyers keen to find their ideal home and looking to negotiate a relative bargain should keep shopping for houses in the days before Christmas, at a time when competition from other buyers is typically reduced.

Spokesperson Miles Shipside suggested:

“When other prospective buyers are taking a house-hunting break and are busy shopping for Christmas, a keen seller will be happy to see you and a lack of any other bids will make yours seem more appealing. With this year’s sellers’ market looking likely to continue into next year, there is a small window of opportunity to be ahead of some of your buyer competition.”

Early-bird sellers catch the worm

Prospective sellers should also get their property onto the market now before the January rush. This way your home will stand out and you could attract one of the millions of potential buyers who search for a new home over the Christmas break – in fact last year there were one million visitors to Rightmove on Christmas Day alone! But it was Boxing Day onwards when the site saw a massive surge, according to Shipside.

“There’s a huge peak in the number of people home-hunting on Rightmove on Boxing Day. It’s highly unlikely you’ll want prospective buyers to come round to have a look while you’re tucking into turkey leftovers between Christmas and New Year, but being earlier to market means you won’t get left out of this surge in buyer interest if being an early-moving bird is your New Year resolution.”

Once the New Year rolls around the traffic numbers make the case for making sure your property marketing is prepared before the start of 2016 – nearly three million people visited Rightmove on the first working day of January 2015.

If you’re thinking of selling your property remember that it takes some time for your estate agent to prepare the marketing of your property, including getting photos taken, floorplans prepared and Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s) commissioned. Start now and your home will be online in time for the rush.