When is the best time to move?

February and March are the best months to list a home for sale, based on the likelihood that the home will go on to successfully complete, closely followed by April and January, according to Rightmove. Nearly seven in ten homes (66.3%) listed for sale in February and March since 2012 have gone on to complete the sale, the joint-highest months of the year.

In an encouraging start to the year for buyer activity, buyer demand is up by 8% compared with the same period last year, and the number of sales being agreed is up by 15%.

Meanwhile, a significant proportion of first-time buyers have to draw on help from family and friends to raise a deposit, says Nationwide. In 2023/24, around 40% of these buyers had some assistance, either in the form of a gift or loan from family and friends or through inheritance. Around 55% of homeowners own their property outright, and this has increased by 1.3 million over the past years to reach 8.7 million. Older households aged 65 and over have seen outright ownership increase from 4.5 million to 5.4 million over the last decade.