The latest research from estate and lettings agent, Barrows and Forrester, has revealed that hopeful sellers already on the market still have a strong chance of completing before Christmas, with the autumn months of September, October and November seeing the largest number of homes sold over the last 10 years.

Barrows and Forrester analysed property transaction data stretching back over the last decade to see how seasonal trends could impact the property market as we approach the end of the year.

The research shows that the summer months of June, July and August are some of the busiest of the lot, with 2.705m summer sales completing in the last 10 years – an average of 270,518 transactions per year.

Just one season tops summer when it comes to the total number of homes sold and that’s autumn.

Over the last decade a total of 2.709m properties have completed during the autumn season.

This equates to an average of 270,961 annual sales – a marginal 0.2% uplift versus the summer season.

For those who don’t make it over the line before winter comes, the chances of selling are dramatically reduced.

While 2.274m homes have sold over the last 10 winters, it’s the quietest time of year for the property market, with a decline in transaction levels seen every year, averaging out at a -16% drop in market activity between autumn and winter.

Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented:

“Although Halloween is yet to arrive, there are already hushed whispers of Christmas starting to circulate and so it’s only natural that some sellers may be looking to the Christmas deadline with diminishing hopes of completing.

The good news is that they still have a very strong chance of doing so and, in fact, over the last 10 years, more sales have completed during the autumn months than any other season.

Autumn also sits almost identically to summer when it comes to the average number of homes sold per year and the proportion of total sales each season accounts for.

So, as it stands, we’re right in the middle of the property market peak of activity and so it’s well worth pushing on if you had planned to complete before 2024.”