Agents set for busy month of Christmas completions - research

The property market could be in for a strong end to the year based on typical seasonal trends, research suggests,

New research has found that the number of homes completing in December has sat 6% higher than the average monthly total for the year over the last decade. 

GetAgent analysed the monthly number of properties sold in each month of the year over the last decade, as well as just how many homebuyers received a new home for Christmas last year due to completing on the 25th December. 

The research shows that while Christmas is often considered a traditionally quiet time of the year for the property market due to buyers and sellers putting their plans on hold until the new year, this certainly doesn’t mean there will be a dip in the number of transactions completing. 

In fact, over the past 10 years, an average of 83,616 property sales have completed on a monthly basis each and every month. However, when looking specifically at the month of December, this climbs to an average of 88.673 - a 6% increase. 

In seven of the previous 10 years, the number of transactions completing has actually increased between November and December. 

But while December remains a relatively busy time of the year for home sellers and buyers, the chances of finding a new home under the tree on Christmas Day are slim. 

GetAgent analysed sold price data from the Land Registry and found that, last year, just six sales completed between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. This equates to 0.001% of the 810,450 homes to have sold across England and Wales in 2022. 

Three of these sales completed on Christmas Eve, one Boxing Day and just two on Christmas Day itself.

Colby Short, chief executive of GetAgent, said: “Christmas is often considered a bit of a lull period for the property market and this is true in some respects. 

“There’s almost certainly a reduction in the number of motivated buyers and sellers pushing ahead to agree a sale, as plans are put on hold until after the festive break. At the same time, many progressing sales will see a slight delay due to the reduced office hours and staff numbers of estate agents, solicitors and other required parties. 

“However, for those approaching the home selling and buying finish line, December is business as usual, and market activity has actually sat above the monthly average benchmark over the last decade during the month of December.”