Summer can give us a lot to look forward to, with its longer days and warmer weather. Summer isn’t just great news for sunseekers, it can also make selling your home a breeze.

Selling a home in the summer gives sellers added seasonal advantages but due to a unique set of circumstances this year, it can be even easier to sell your hot property this summer. Here at Ideal Locations, we are an estate agency that covers areas in East London and Essex. Ilford, where we are based, has an average house price of £427,640 which is nearly double the national average of £251,000, meaning that homeowners in Ilford can get lucrative offers for their houses.

East London also has an in-demand property market, with the 2012 Olympics and regeneration in the area pushing up house prices. Waltham Forest has seen prices soar by up to 126% since 2011, while Barking and Dagenham has seen house prices rise by 96% to an average of £317,000 since 2011.

Hackney has also experienced a property boom, with prices increasing by 105% to an average of £604,000. It’s clear that East London and Essex have a prosperous property market and a reputable agent like Ideal Locations, which knows these areas well, can help you to get the most out of the sale of your property this summer.

It’s more appealing to move home in the summer

The better weather makes it easier to move home and this means buyers may be more eager to purchase a new property in the summer. Moving possessions on a warm summer’s day can be a preferable option to lugging around belongings on a cold and dark wintry night.

As well as the pleasant weather that summer tends to bring, buyers with children can be keener to have their family settled in a new home before the new school term in September.

Summer is the last opportunity to ensure that happens and buyers will want to have their new place sorted before the new terms begins. These factors give can help make selling properties in the summer quicker and is great news for those who want their properties sold fast.

Your home and garden look better in the summer

There is more natural light in the summer and that helps to make your home’s interior and exterior really shine. Light can make your rooms look bigger and brighter and this can make your property look more attractive to potential buyers.

Summer’s increased sunlight also helps to make your garden and outdoor spaces look better, with a tidy and spruced-up the garden really looking the part when the sun shines.

In a survey conducted by the AA, 56% of respondents said they would look for a property that had a garden after living in a house without one. Gardens were also ranked as the top must-have property feature in GoCompare’s UK Property Must-Haves survey.

Recent studies also show that a well-maintained garden can add up to 20% to the value of a house, meaning the average UK property could see an increase of around £51,200.

So, it appears to be a savvy investment to make sure your garden is in order and summer’s better weather can help to show off your hard work. It’s up to you whether you tidy up your garden yourself or get an expert to do it for you. But whatever you choose, it's proven to be worth the extra effort as research from Post Office Money shows that landscaping your garden can add 77% to the value of your home.

If you don’t have a garden, summer still presents a great opportunity to show off your outdoor spaces like terraces and balconies. Buyers who are looking for properties in the summer might be particularly interested in your outdoor spaces, as, with the warmer weather, they could be spending a significant amount of time there.

Ensure that your property’s outdoor spaces are neat and clean before viewings, and this may help buyers imagine how they will enjoy the sun at your property. An appealing outdoor space could convince a would-be buyer to put down an offer on your house.

Government initiatives

Last year, government initiatives were introduced to keep the property market afloat amid the pandemic. The stamp duty holiday was announced on July 8 2020, and although the first stage ended on June 30 2021, it will still apply for lower-priced properties (up to £250,000) until September 30, after which the nil rate will return to the pre-holiday level of £125,000.

Because the stamp duty holiday is continuing in some effect until the end of summer, there will still be some sort of rush to buy homes by the end of summer as buyers clamour to take advantage of the tax break. The rush of buyers has already put prices up as demand struggles to meet supply.

The battle to not miss the stamp duty holiday deadlines gives sellers leverage when it comes to getting a higher asking price. According to research from the Nationwide building society, UK house prices rose 7.1% over the past year – increasing the average property price to £238,381.

Nationwide said the stamp duty holiday has helped to affect the timing of property sales and now first-time buyers are in a better position to afford a house after saving money during the lockdown.

Another initiative put in place to boost the property market is the 95% mortgage guarantee scheme. The scheme was introduced in April 2021 and will run until December 31 2022. It aims to give buyers a boost while giving lenders confidence with a government guarantee.

The 95% mortgage scheme means buyers only need a 5% deposit to purchase a home, which again means more buyers trying to get onto the property market and sellers having the upper hand due to increased interest.

With these conditions in place, more buyers are likely to be eager to snap up a new property this summer, so it’s important that you work with the right agency to sell your property.

Ideal Locations is an award-winning estate agency based in Ilford and cover areas in East London and Essex. We can help to manage the sale of your property and you can find out more about us here. You can also contact us here to find out more about our services.