The level of new-build properties being sold has picked up as we approach the end of the year, while sales across the regular market have dropped in the run-up to Christmas.

That is according to the latest research by new homes specialist Stone Real Estate, which looked at the number of transactions across each area of the market over the last five years, what percentage they accounted for in each year and how this compared to the previous months.

It found that on average over the last five years, the number of new-build transactions in December accounts for 11.99% of total new-build transactions for the year.

In contrast, the number of existing homes sold during the last month of the year accounted for just 8.2% of all sales on average.

What’s more, December and June are the only months of the year where new-build sales hit double-digits as a percentage of total yearly sales, with both consistently ranking as the busiest in the new-build calendar over the last five years.

There is also a clear trend where the number of new-build sales falls considerably following the June peak and then slowly gains momentum heading towards Christmas.

On the other hand, existing property sales tend to see a moderate decline from August and September heading into the festive season.

“The new build sector doesn’t come under the same seasonal strain when it comes to sales transactions when compared to the existing sector,” Michael Stone, founder and chief executive officer of Stone Real Estate, comments.

“This is largely because new build sales involve one buyer and on the other side of the coin you have a professional entity that continues to work right up until the Christmas break to get a sale over the line.”

He says with no complications that can come with an existing property sale, when the December rush to complete by Christmas hits, the new-build sector is better placed to ‘facilitate a greater number of sales’ despite the shorter time frame.

“One common misconception is that Christmas is a great time to find a homebuyer bargain and while true to an extent, historically new build house prices tend to stand firm, and in many cases sit higher than many previous months in the year,” he continues.

“That said, developers will often include some festive incentives to persuade homebuyers to take the plunge and this, of course, all helps favourably towards their end of year figures.”