While everyone else is taking it easy on holiday, now is the time to get ahead of the crowd if you are thinking of selling your house this autumn, says Edward Church of Strutt & Parker.

Homeowners and buyers are often inundated with statistics describing what happened last week or last year. While such historical information can be helpful to allow us to draw some conclusions about how we reached where we are now, such indices struggle to answer the question that is on everyone’s lips – what is going to happen next?

Unfortunately, none of us has a crystal ball and as a consequence it is very difficult indeed to offer accurate predictions of what the future might bring. Good judgement, intuition and luck can all help, but there can never be a definite answer. My own viewpoint is that as we cannot predict the future, we should instead make certain to be prepared for it, whatever it might bring.

Some things we can be sure of and August will, as always, bring slightly quieter market conditions. Many will be away on holiday, or simply relaxing in the quiet season. This time of year gives those of you thinking of a move a chance to steal a march on others and begin to make concrete preparations.

Some readers will have their house for sale already and agents should be reviewing unsold houses with their clients and proposing changes where necessary to reinvigorate marketing campaigns. September is a time to hit the streets running. The foundations of the autumn market will be laid here, and there are always buyers looking to move.

We cannot be sure how busy the marketplace will be, but the organised and the well-prepared will be best placed to take advantage of whatever conditions we encounter. The latter part of the autumn may seem a long way off just now, but it will soon be here. My firm has well advanced plans to recreate our successful open house day this autumn and on a truly nationwide basis.

We cannot know what the future holds, but we are as ready as we can be and I hope you are too.