Christmas may feel a long way off in the middle of summer.
But if you’re hoping to be settled into a new home by the festive season, now is the time to act.
A typical residential move in England and Wales, from offer accepted to completion, takes an average of four to five months once solicitors, surveys, searches and mortgage lenders are all factored in.
If moving before Christmas is your goal, that means the groundwork needs to be laid during the summer months, not left until the autumn.
Here, our Complete team looks at why you shouldn’t wait for the Christmas decorations to go up before buying or selling!
Why the Timeline Matters More Than You Think
Moving home is rarely a quick process. Between listing photography, marketing your property, negotiating offers, and progressing what can be a lengthy conveyancing process, there are a great many moving parts, each of which takes time to complete properly.
Add in searches, surveys, mortgage offers, and the back and forth between solicitors that any chain inevitably involves, and it becomes clear why early planning is essential.
Leave things until the autumn and you significantly increase the risk of missing a Christmas deadline altogether.
Shop windows will already be filled with decorations while your paperwork is still being chased, and by that point there is little you can realistically do to speed things up.
Christmas Will Be Here Before You Know It
It is easy to underestimate how quickly a property transaction can occupy your calendar once it is underway.
What feels like a distant deadline in July can become a genuine scramble by October, particularly as solicitors, surveyors and mortgage lenders face their own busiest period of the year in the run-up to Christmas.
The property market also follows a predictable seasonal pattern. A significant proportion of buyers and sellers wait until September to begin the process, creating a rush of activity that puts pressure on conveyancers, surveyors and removal firms alike.
Starting in the summer, ahead of that seasonal bottleneck, gives you a considerable advantage.
Whether You’re Selling, Buying, or Both
If you’re selling, getting your property marketed and in front of buyers now significantly improves your chances of securing an offer and progressing a chain before the autumn rush begins.
If you’re buying, viewing properties early and securing a mortgage agreement in principle in good time puts you in a stronger position when the right property comes along.
And if you’re doing both simultaneously, selling your current home while buying the next one, early action matters more than ever, as a chain can only move as quickly as its slowest link.
Here we are filming some Christmas content… in July!
How Complete Can Help
Getting started is straightforward. You can book a professional valuation directly, or get an instant online valuation completed in minutes, both giving you a clear and realistic picture of where your property stands in today’s market.
From that point, the Complete approach means dedicated support from your first point of contact right through to completion. You’ll receive full guidance at every stage of the process, with nothing left to chance and clear, honest communication throughout, a particularly valuable service when you’re working to a fixed deadline.
You can track progress at every stage through My Complete, giving you full visibility of your sale or purchase at all times. Complete also operates as a network of local branches across South Devon, sharing information and pooling resources between offices. This gives you access to a significantly wider pool of buyers, sellers and local market knowledge than a single independent office could offer alone.
Working with one team across the entire process, rather than a collection of separate agents, solicitors and advisers, reduces the likelihood of delays and ensures someone is overseeing the bigger picture on your behalf throughout.
Don’t Wait for the Christmas Decorations to Go Up
The decisions you make during the summer months, which agent you instruct, how quickly your property is brought to market, and how well-prepared your paperwork is, will ultimately determine whether your move is completed by December or still ongoing well into the new year.
If you’re genuinely aiming to move before Christmas, the most effective step is to begin the process now, rather than waiting for the festive season to arrive.
Get in touch with Complete to find out how our team can support your sale, purchase, or both, in good time for Christmas.