Housing market heat to remain as autumn spike in sales

Summer has ended, yet the property market is forecasted to feel the heat throughout the autumn months. Property transaction levels and price performance are surely something to inspect during the coming season.

We analysed the last 10 years' worth of property market data, reviewing both sales volumes and the average sold price across each season of the year.

What's the best season to sell your home?

We found that summer may be the best time to sell when it comes to the volume of houses changing hands on the market. Over the last ten years, we’ve seen property sales hitting just shy of 2.7m between June to August - averaging a staggering 266,820 sales per year, the most of any season.

The autumn months of September, October and November aren't far behind, with a total of 2.65m homes selling in the last ten years, averaging 265,198 sales per year.

This is significantly higher than both winter and spring, when an average of 223,897 and 229,474 respective sales take place each year.

Autumn and winter might be the best time to sell

After analysing the last ten years of sold prices, we also found that for those looking to sell their homes, autumn and winter are the best seasons to do so. This is especially true for when it comes to achieving the highest prices for your home.

Over the last ten years, sold prices have averaged £215,574 during autumn, climbing to £216,541 through winter. In contrast, those selling in spring have achieved an average of just £207,761, with summer sellers securing a median of £213,196.

‘House prices should keep climbing through until Christmas.’ - GetAgent CEO Colby Short

“We’ve enjoyed a prolonged period of unprecedented property market boom since the start of the pandemic and there are now fears that this stellar rate of house price growth could start to subside, due to the current economic landscape and the growing cost of living crisis.

However, this is yet to materialise and the latest indicators show that the market has continued to perform with resilience, with house prices climbing ever higher.

For those worried about entering the market at present in case they can’t secure a buyer or their required asking price, the historic data shows that this trend is only likely to continue throughout the remainder of the year, with transactions likely to spike this autumn, while house prices should keep on climbing right through until Christmas.”

Data and Methodology

Table shows the rate of house price growth in each decade without adjusting for inflation

Table shows the rate of house price growth in each decade after adjusting for inflation