A smoother ride lies ahead: this is the consensus of opinion in the property world. The ups and downs of the past 18 months will flatten out into a period of more modest but steady growth. Prices are predicted to rise nationally from between 4-6 per cent over the coming year. A smoother ride lies ahead: this is the consensus of opinion in the property world.

The ups and downs of the past 18 months will flatten out into a period of more modest but steady growth. Prices are predicted to rise nationally from between 4-6 per cent over the coming year. Reassuring though that forecast may be, how does that translate into a personal decision of whether to move, when to sell or what to buy? Crystal ball-gazing is not a science, but a few sound tips from those in the know can be rewarding and could reduce the numbers of us who look back over the past year and mutter regretfully that if only we'd known and how we wish we had done this, that or the other.Just before Christmas more than a few would-be sellers took their properties off the market hoping that by March they would have more buyers snapping at their heels. "A suicidal move," is the opinion of Ed Mead of Douglas and Gordon, the London estate agents. As 2001 dawns he suggests those homes go back on to the market as soon as possible "January is about the best time to sell. People are cashed up and ready to go and have a new year resolution to go out and buy. There are fewer properties for them to choose from and anything that is compromised in any way has a much better chance of selling now.

There are about 30 per cent more buyers looking at one place in January than there are in the spring. Anyone who is thinking of taking their property off the market is missing out on a real opportunity. They should hang in there."For those who have resolved to leave city life and move into the country, now is the time to look for small farms, says Rupert Bradstock of Property Vision, which advises buyers."Country houses on the edge of villages within an hour or so south and west of London will remain as much in demand as ever, but where I believe there is real scope is in those properties with a couple of hundred acres. Farmers already at the end of their tether who were unable to get their crops in the ground are attracted by the prices they can get for their properties.