04 September, 2019

By VIVA Team

Best time to sell a house

What the myth says and why it's wrong in Spain

Here at VIVA, we often get asked when the best time to sell a house is in Spain. Understandably, vendors want to increase their chances of selling their property whilst also achieving as high a price as they can. 

They also want to make sure their house does not sit on the market for months and months without receiving any interest, especially if they’re in the housing chain and have somewhere to move to.

Also, as you might expect, sellers do their homework. You only need to type the words “best time to sell a house” into Google to get a rough idea of when market activity is at its highest in your home country.

Spring, like the Internet says?

And, in less than one second, you’ll see hundreds of thousands of websites, articles and blogs advising you that springtime – or, more specifically, between the months of February and June – is the magic moment to sell your real estate asset. I repeat, in your home country.

There are more sunny days, so your home is flooded with natural illumination and will be seen in its best light. Flowers are in bloom, meaning gardens and adornments in outside spaces do your property justice. Families can coordinate their home purchase with school term times.

And, most importantly, home buyers do most of their viewings in this period and the greatest volume of sales are made.

But not necessarily in Spain.

“Spain is different”

What many individuals (buyers as well as sellers) fail to take into account is that the Spanish housing market is different to the British, US, German, French, Belgian or Scandinavian markets in various ways. In this respect, and to quote the late Spanish politician and Minister for Tourism Manuel Fraga’s famous advertising campaign in the 1960s, “Spain is different”.

Firstly, the selling process is slightly unique. For a step-by-step guide for how to list your Costa del Sol property with a reputable agent, check out the following post I wrote back in May:

Another difference is the notion that there is a best time to sell a house in Spain. While the arguments listed above for listing your property in May or June hold weight in areas with a continental climate (such as the UK or the States), Spain has a Mediterranean climate and the weather in Málaga province, specifically, is temperate virtually all year round.

While this factor doesn’t necessarily negate the fact that lots of people search for their dream property for sale on the Costa del Sol, the fact that people view houses 12 months a year does mean that sales are distributed much more evenly between January and December. So, this begs the question…

Is there a “high season” for selling your property?

The answer, simply, is no. Just because you put your house on the market in May or June does not guarantee that it’ll be sold faster than if it's listed in October or November. Although it may seem counter-intuitive for many sellers, the “when” is of much less significance than other aspects of the vendor journey (hence the myth).

As our Vendor Services expert Christophe explains:

“The best time to sell a house here on the Coast is when the vendor is ready. I wouldn’t recommend listing a property just to coincide with certain dates, since there is buying interest year-round. More important is the need for the listing agent to value the property fairly and price it in line with the current market, so as to generate interest but not to price it out of the market.”

I will talk more about the concept of “market price” (what it means and how it is calculated) in another post, since it is a can of worms that is contingent upon several different variables and is something I won’t go into in this article... but the delicate balance Christophe mentions is fundamental to the success or failure of your home sale.

He also adds that one of the most crucial factors affecting the appeal of your property and its likelihood of achieving a fast sale are the small things you can do yourself: “If there are big cracks in the walls or damp patches, you’re obviously not helping your property maximise its potential and buyers will, understandably, be put off.”

For more handy tips on what you, as a homeowner, can do to achieve the best valuation, take a look at this post I wrote recently:

Conclusion

The truth is that not much has been written on this subject, so it is highly probable that you believe the myth that there is a best time to sell a house in Spain. 

However, the moral of the tale is that you should only list your home if you are ready and if you have a genuine intention of selling your Costa del Sol property. If the time is right and you want to sell your real estate asset, speak to a reputable estate agent. As the biggest listing agents on the Coast by far, VIVA's Vendor Services team would be happy to deal with your enquiry and give a free, no commitment valuation of your property.

If you're looking to sell your home, contact us to start listing your property for free or give us a call on +34 951 272 743 or write to us at [email protected] to get the ball rolling!