Time To Buy A House?

Is there a better time of year to buy a house?

Well contrary to belief Spring doesn’t seem to be the best time of year to look for your dream home. History suggests you might be better off during the Summer time.

A recent investigatory report analysed 10 years worth of house buying data from the Office for National Statistics. They worked out when you should be looking to buy property across the country. Estate agents will tell you that spring is the most popular time of year to sell houses, offering buyers more choice. However, this data suggests this usually isn’t the case at all. In fact, Summer has seen more houses bought and sold in England and Wales than Spring, for eight of the past 10 years. The most houses bought and sold out of any season for six of those years.

In comparison, Spring has only seen the most sales throughout the year on two occasions – although last year was one of those. The same is true across most parts of the country, although in some cases Autumn beats Summer to come out on top more often.

So, wherever you want to move to, if you’re looking to buy a house you won’t necessarily see the widest variety of properties on offer in March, April and May. There will be more choice during the Summer months.

However, if the price is more important to you, you’re probably better off looking during off-peak times of the year anyway, such as in late Autumn or the Wintertime.

While there’ll be less to choose from, there will also be less competition!