When is the best time to invest in real estate? How can you lose thousands of dollars?

In the real estate market, time is crucial If you receive an offer too soon or too late, you'll frequently have to accept a lower price than what you were asking for

When is the best time to put a property on the market?

The best way to sell a property is to sell it quickly, but not too quickly. According to recent research, homes that are under offer within 10 to 11 days usually fetch the best prices.

According to research from the HomeOwners Alliances Best Estate Agent Finder tool, the speed at which a house is sold can either make or cost sellers thousands of pounds.

Data from 6,000 estate agent branches across the UK showed that agents with an average selling time of 11 days raise an additional 1,000 on an average priced property by achieving 100.4% of the asking price.

Contrary to popular belief, sellers may lose out if they sell too quickly. Only 94% of the asking price was reached by properties sold in seven days or less, leaving sellers nearly 16,000 less on an average-priced property.

Overall, however, the study found a trend: the longer a property is on the market, the lower its final price.

"Every pound matters to homeowners right now," stated Paula Higgins, the HomeOwners Alliance's founder and chief executive. According to our data, there is a sweet spotroughly eleven dayswhen selling a house. You risk losing money if you sell too quickly. If you wait more than a month, buyers will begin to reduce the price by thousands. The "

In separate articles, we examine the qualities that buyers seek in a home as well as the top UK locations and their prices.

How might the asking price of a property be affected by a slow sale?

Sellers usually have to accept 98% of their asking price after 30 days on the market. The situation deteriorates for sellers after three months, or ninety days; they usually accept 95.5 percent of their asking price.

These percentage variations quickly mount up, as the average UK home now sells for about 270,000. After a month, a house is usually sold for 5,400 less than the asking price. Three months later, that increases to about 18,400.

The data shows that the best prices are obtained by estate agents who consistently sell in about 11 days, and when a house sits on the market for weeks, it is frequently an indication that something needs to change.

The HomeOwners Alliances Best Estate Agent Finder allows you to see how quickly local real estate brokers sell properties similar to yours. It ranks your local agents according to how well they are able to secure the asking price and close deals quickly.

Top advice for 2026 real estate sellers.

First. Establish a fair price.

The average asking price on the real estate website Rightmove increased monthly by 9,893 (2.8 percent) from 358,138 in December to 368,031 in January, the biggest increase in any month since 2015, as sellers began 2026 with ambitious pricing.

However, it still appears to be a buyer's market because, according to Rightmove, there are more properties listed than at this time of year since 2014, and one-third of them have seen price reductions. Price your property competitively to ensure that it sells within the ideal 11-day window.

Two. Give your conveyancing solicitor advance notice.

If you want to ensure a speedy sale, pick your conveyancing attorney as soon as you decide to list your house and begin gathering paperwork. Instead of waiting for the buyer to find out about any possible problems, bring them up now.

#3. Make sure your home is ready for sale.

If a survey reveals any problems that could cause the move to be delayed, think about fixing them right away. This year, energy efficiency upgrades will be more of a selling point, and obtaining an EPC early on will benefit you.

#4. Pick the appropriate buyer.

Everyone wants to get the best price on a home, but if you also want to sell quickly, choose a buyer who isn't in a chain and isn't depending on selling their house to buy yours.