Housing market set to slow as summer ends
The latest research by estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, has revealed that it’s not just the temperature that could start to cool as we head into autumn, with property transactions and sold prices also likely to take a dip.
GetAgent analysed market data across each season last year and found that summer is the hottest month to be a home seller, with the highest number of seasonal transactions (224,442) in 2019, as well as the highest average sold price (£242,000).
The number of sales and the price achieved then drops steadily over autumn and winter before picking back up in the spring. The good news is, that with a drop of just -4% in transactions and -1% in sold prices during 2019, autumn still represents a pretty solid season to sell your home.
There’s more good news for some home sellers in the UK’s major cities.
Last year, the majority of cities saw the most property sales transact during the summer months.
However, Liverpool, Sheffield, Portsmouth and Bristol actually saw the largest number of seasonal house sales during the autumn period.
What’s more, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Leicester, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Plymouth, Bristol and Newport all saw home seller achieve the highest average sold prices of the year during the Autumn months.
Cambridge home sellers enjoyed the highest average sold prices during the winter, with home sellers in Southampton spoilt for choice, enjoying a consistently high average sold price across summer, autumn and winter.
Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented:
“Historical trends suggest that the property market will start to ease both where activity and the price achieved is concerned as we enter into autumn, slowing further during the winter months.
However, the autumnal change to the market is likely to be a marginal one and in fact, some home sellers can expect to achieve a better price for their home depending on where they are selling up.
That said, it’s important to consider the lag between accepting an offer and actually completing on a sale which can take weeks, if not months. Those sellers looking to take advantage of a more buoyant market before winter really sets in should already have the wheels in motion, with their property on the market and ready to sell.
Of course, market conditions this year have been anything but normal so who knows what might happen as we approach the end of the year. With the recent announcement of a stamp duty holiday, there’s a very high chance we could see an Indian summer across the UK property market, with prices and transaction levels remaining unseasonally higher than usual as many rush to take advantage.”
