Best and worst months to sell and buy a house

RHemmings

There's quite a bit of information online about the best and worst times to sell a house. E.g. 



From: https://www.theadvisory.co.uk/house-selling/best-time-to-sell-house/

This link seems to suggest that October is the best time to buy a house, followed by November and December. But, I think this is written for the US property market. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/best-time-to-buy-a-house

This UK orientated thread says that April and May are the best months to buy because there are more houses on the market. https://www.cjhole.co.uk/news/buying-a-house-when-are-the-best-and-worst-times-to-do-it-8460  But, it also mentions that there may be better deals available in fall and the winter as there are fewer buyers. 

My question is: Do people on here agree or disagree about these claims of the best seasons to buy and sell? And if so, why? 

I'm a buyer, and focussed  on buying. But, the best times to buy and sell are two sides of the same coin so knowing about both would be good. The next months up to the end of February at this is my target purchase window. But, discussion/information about the rest of the year would be interesting too. 

MorningcoffeeIV

Your post talks about the best time to buy a house, but the chart is about the best time to sell a house..

They're not the same thing and to some extent, diametrically opposed.

RHemmings

MorningcoffeeIV said:

Your post talks about the best time to buy a house, but the chart is about the best time to sell a house..

They're not the same thing and to some extent, diametrically opposed.

Thanks. The graphic and first sentence of my post are a chart for the best time to sell a house. The later two links are about buying a house. I haven't (yet?) found a similar graphic for buying. 

As a buyer I'm mainly interested in the best time to buy a house, but the best time to sell a house influences that.  As mentioned in the non-quoted parts of the links I gave.

I'll see if I can edit the title and first post to be less confusing. EDIT: Done.

housebuyer143

The guide is as you would expect. December and beginning of Jan people are getting ready for Xmas and don't go listing their property. 
Feb through June is the best time and then you go into the school holidays where again people have kids and do not want to list property and viewings dry up for the same reasons. 

gwynlas

There is no better time to buy or sell as house as far as I am aware as it varies on a case to case basis and there are too many variables. Families might want to move in during summer before start of new school year. Others might not want disruption before Christmas so move early in New Year and ake advantage of January sales for new furnishings. House builders might offer incentives to fit in with quartely and end of year targets.Bank holidays offer long weekends for unpacking and settling in without using much annual leave.  Another point is does best time to buy mean best time to offer or best time to complete which in most of the UK is up to the vagaries of conveyancing.

theartfullodger

Best for what?  Speed? Price?  Decent people to deal with? Impressing neighbours? (very) Serious question.

Green_hopeful

Estate agents say Boxing Day is a good day for listing because people are bored of Christmas and have nothing to do other than look at Rightmove. Sample of one, I listed my house on 26 December 2016 and sold within a month. 

Skiddaw1

For what it is worth, when we last sold, we went on the market in early Feb (and accepted an offer within 2 weeks). When selling previous property we went on the market in early September (and completed the week before Christmas )

robatwork

This mythical month is when the unicorns hatch. (Yes - they hatch like birds!)

Don't wait to buy, or come to that, sell. A divorcing couple may well put their house on the market on Dec 27th, and it may be a steal as they can't wait to get rid of it.

Plenty of renters' contracts are up on Jan 1 so are looking to buy. I've sold houses around Xmas too.

housebuyer143

Green_hopeful said:

Estate agents say Boxing Day is a good day for listing because people are bored of Christmas and have nothing to do other than look at Rightmove. Sample of one, I listed my house on 26 December 2016 and sold within a month. 

I'm not sure you actually get a faster sale listing on boxing day. Yes you get the most hits, but like you say it's just bored people looking online - how many of these are real buyers? 
Any serious buyer is going to be looking at houses before and after Xmas, not just on boxing day.

hulu72

There’s no set rule as there’s too many variables, but as an agent our busiest months are probably April/May/September. April and May as there’s no major events that people focus on. September because kids have gone back to school and people want to be moved for Christmas. Worst month is definitely December, followed by August and January.

You’re probably most likely to get a good price in the autumn months as people are desperate to be sorted by Christmas. I wouldn’t take much notice of the winter months though, you generally find that people who list around December/January aren’t desperate to move. 

Boxing Day is an interesting one, we open between Christmas and New Year and the first day back after Christmas is the busiest by far of the winter months. However, we tend to find a large portion of buyers at this time are time wasters really (e.g people who have had a sudden impulse over Christmas and not really serious about moving)