What time of year is best for buying property in Wales?
As one of the largest estate agencies in Cardiff, we constantly keep abreast of the latest news and trends within the Welsh property market to keep our sellers, buyers, landlords and investors up to date, so that they can maximise their efforts. If you are thinking about purchasing a property in Wales this year, a very interesting analysis of Land Registry data by WalesOnline has determined the most and least popular times of the year for property buyers and sellers.
Adults appear to want property for Christmas!
According to Land Registry data, the most popular time of the year to buy property in Wales is before Christmas, specifically the week before Christmas. The data shows that in the last 5 years, 6,391 properties were sold in the week directly preceding the festivities, which equates to around 183 sales per day. This data also correlates with the UK as a whole, which has seen around 3,746 property sales per day in the third week of December for the past 5 years now.
It was also revealed that the last week of June was the second busiest time of the year for property sales, with 166 properties sold every day on average in Wales during that week. The Land Registry data also showed that every local authority in Wales bar the Vale of Glamorgan recorded either the third week in December or the last week of June as their busiest time of the year for property sales.
You may wonder why these two weeks are the busiest of the year, well, according to estate agents, the reason is that many sellers and buyers want to complete their transactions before Christmas and just before the summer holidays. Buying a property is an emotional and often stressful period, so it’s only logical that people want the sale to be over before the added stress of Christmas and school holidays.
The least popular times to buy a property are…
In contrast, the last of week of December and the first week of January are commonly the quietest times of year for estate agents. This is apparently because the Christmas holidays are in full swing and people are often more focused on the festivities, and because many estate agents close for a couple of days during this period.
That being said, data released by Rightmove found that over the Christmas break, there was a 20% increase in the number of people searching for properties for sale online. According to Rightmove’s data, nearly 14 million views were recorded on the website on Christmas Day in 2014, with that number increasing to 25 million on Boxing Day and 38 million on New Year’s Day. Many property experts have indicated that people have more time to search for their dream property over the festive break, so that’s why it’s a great time to sell a property.
While it appears that seasonal fluctuations are clear, the property market can be adversely impacted by a major political or economic change, such as the Scottish referendum, the London Olympics and the upcoming EU referendum, so sellers and buyers are advised to prepare for fluctuations before and after these types of events.
Here at CPS Homes, we are one of Cardiff’s largest estate agencies and have the experience and knowhow to help you sell or buy a Cardiff flat, apartment or house. To find out more about how our team can help you buy or sell a property, please contact our Cardiff Bay branch today on 02920 480490 or email bay@cpshomes.co.uk.
