I took a phone call a few days ago from a lady needing to sell up to live near her family in Yorkshire. She was clearly keen to move sooner rather than later, writes Chris Willey.

‘When is the best time?’, she asked, ‘Just before, or just after, Easter?’ ‘Why not now?’, I asked, and went on to explain how buying trends have changed in recent years and that almost any time is a good time.

I say ‘almost’ any time, as the one exception is the three or four weeks before Christmas. The preliminaries before the big day invariably take precedence and trying to sell a property with so much else going on is likely to prove fruitless.

But fret not, I urged my Bridlington bound buyer and reassured her - Come Boxing Day, everything changes. For a good number of years now and mainly thanks to the Internet, Boxing Day marks the start of the New Year home buying season. This can be borne out by the property website Rightmove reporting more than 51 million visits to their site between Boxing Day and the end of the holiday period last year. This high level of interest could be attributed to those with a New Year resolve to enjoy their next Christmas in a new abode while others who have been holding back, especially during what has been a very uncertain period, judge it to be a good time to venture into the market.

I concluded to my caller, ‘Why not get your photographs taken now, before you put your festive decorations up and have your details prepared ready for the off? If you’re worried about having to tidy up after Christmas, you could start advertising on Boxing Day but delay viewings until the first week or two of January.’

This could be valuable advice for a good many others wishing to kick start their New Year moving plans. With fewer properties on the market right now, prepare and price properly, all ready for Boxing Day, you may well find that early bird buyer and you’ll be putting yourself in a great position for when you find your next home.

Chris Willey is an Independent Property Appraiser and welcomes all enquiries on Taunton 01823 412661