Once your property goes live, it's visible to every buyer searching your area on the major portals, and your agent should already be contacting suitable applicants on their own database. The first week or two tends to set the tone for the whole sale, so responsiveness matters more here than at almost any other stage.
What does going live on the market actually mean?
It means your property is listed on the major portals, principally Rightmove and Zoopla, and visible to anyone searching in your area. Your agent should also be proactively contacting applicants already on their books who look like a good match, rather than simply waiting for the listing to generate its own enquiries.
Why does the first fortnight matter so much?
The first week or two on the market are typically the most active. Buyers who've been searching for a while, with their finances already sorted, tend to enquire quickly on anything new that matches their criteria. How flexible and responsive everyone is with viewings during this early window often makes a disproportionate difference to the eventual outcome, since momentum is genuinely easier to build than to recover once it's lost.
What is buyer qualification, and why does it matter?
When your agent qualifies a buyer, they're checking that the person enquiring is in a genuine position to proceed, finance in place and, if relevant, their own property already under offer or sold. This protects your time, since it filters out enquiries from people who like the property but aren't actually ready to act on it yet.
What is happening behind the scenes?
Your agent is managing the listing, handling enquiries, booking viewings, and collating feedback as it comes in. You should be getting regular, ideally weekly, updates on activity. This feedback loop between agent and seller is one of the more effective ways to keep a sale on track through the marketing phase, since it's usually the first place a pricing or presentation problem becomes visible.
What should you actually do during this stage?
Be as flexible as you reasonably can with viewing times, since availability genuinely affects outcomes here. Keep the property tidy and ready for viewings at short notice. Ask for feedback after every viewing and take it seriously, particularly if the same point comes up more than once. If the first few weeks pass without an offer, review your pricing with your agent. Early activity, or the lack of it, is usually a more reliable signal of whether the price is right than any individual comment.
| During this stage | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Stay flexible on viewing times | Buyer momentum is easiest to capture early |
| Keep the property viewing-ready | Short-notice viewings are common in the first weeks |
| Expect regular, ideally weekly, updates | Portal and viewing data is the earliest signal of a pricing issue |
| Review pricing if weeks pass with no offers | Activity levels are a more reliable signal than any one viewer's comment |
Frequently asked questions
- Why does the first week or two on the market matter most?
- Buyers who are actively searching with finance in place tend to enquire quickly, so responsiveness during this window has an outsized effect on the outcome.
- What does it mean when an agent says they're qualifying a buyer?
- Checking the buyer can genuinely proceed, with finance in place and any related sale under offer, before investing time in them.
- How often should my agent update me once I'm on the market?
- Weekly is a reasonable standard. Ask for a fixed schedule if updates are irregular.
- What should I do if I've had viewings but no offers?
- Ask your agent for an honest read on the asking price, since early activity is usually the more reliable signal.
This guide is general information for home sellers in England and Wales. Individual agents' processes and reporting frequency vary, so confirm what to expect with your own agent.