It turns out that Boxing Day was the busiest ever for listing properties online so you may be amazed to know that I wasn’t among the estate agents who were frantically busy uploading homes.

Even if uploading was better to contemplate than Christmas leftovers, I always go cold turkey at the mere suggestion that it’s what wins buyers. No-one seriously looks at properties on Boxing Day and immediately phones the relevant estate agent to arrange a viewing. For a start, the estate agents uploading will have done so from home so won’t pick up the office phone!

Far better than worrying about having your property uploaded on Boxing Day is to burn off your Christmas and New Year excess by having a big Spring Clean. Cluttered homes are less attractive to buyers not only because everything becomes overwhelming but also because it makes even large spaces appear smaller when buyers want to see they’re getting as much as possible for their money.

There’s also plenty of talk among bored journalists who have detoxed themselves from the Boxing Day myth about the state of the market during 2023. Gloom is a bigger seller than any bright news so take all those stories of plunging property values with a pinch of salt. The same applies to mortgage interest rate “advice” as we are already seeing a fall in fixed rate interest deals from their heights, making them more affordable again.

That cataclysmic mini budget is now well behind us and markets are recovering. The current Prime Minister is even glowing with financial confidence about 2023 so be happy!

After the mad market following the 2020 pandemic lockdowns and the raging price fire that was stoked by the Stamp Duty holiday intended to stimulate activity, we all knew that a period of adjustment would come.

It is now upon us but unless you bought at the height of the market, in which case you are unlikely to be planning on a move just yet, then the slight decline in prices doesn’t mean that much. Chances are you will still be selling for more than you paid.

The important thing to remember is that your home needs to fit your lifestyle. If it doesn’t, then change it. If running costs concern you, look at the EPC and how performance can be improved. Study the council tax band, now considered by Trading Standards officials to be of vital importance so included in property details and advertising. Check with the relevant local authority about the amount payable in your family circumstances as some people qualify for discounts.

Above all, budget sensibly, borrow only what you can afford (and work this out with an eye to the future) and be happy in your new home.

Colin Shairp,

Director, Town and Country Southern, Drayton.<