"Should I stay or should I go now? Isn't it better to wait until the new year?"
If you own a home in Wath, West Melton, Bolton-on-Dearne, Goldthorpe, Thurnscoe or anywhere else in the Dearne Valley, you may be asking yourself the same thing right now. The nights are drawing in. Christmas is on the way. And somewhere at the back of your mind, you have been wondering about a move.
The worries behind that question are usually the same. • What if I sell for less than it's worth? Nobody wants to look back and feel they gave their home away. • Doesn't the market go quiet in winter? Everyone seems to have heard that buyers disappear until spring. • Who do I actually believe? Every agent says now is a great time to sell. Of course they do.
Those are fair worries. So instead of telling you what to do, I've looked at the published numbers for our area and for the wider market. Then I'll give you my honest view, including when I think you should wait.
Here's the short version. The Wath market is steady, with homes going under offer in around nine weeks when they're priced right. December is quiet, but buyers flood back from Boxing Day, and so do lots of other sellers. Mortgage rates have risen this year and could go up again, so waiting for things to settle isn't a safe bet. My view is simple. If your home is ready, listing in November or early December usually makes sense. If it isn't, use the time to prepare and aim to launch in early January. Either way, the price you set matters more than the month you pick.
Why is this the case? What the Wath and S63 property market is doing now Homes in Wath are selling in around two months, but buyers are price-sensitive and asking prices are being trimmed. Here are the latest figures I could verify.
Wath upon Dearne (GetAgent, which combines HM Land Registry sold prices with property portal data, calculated 26 October 2026): • Average asking price: £217,283 • Average time on the market before going under offer: 9 weeks • Average reduction from first asking price: 2.1% Home size Average sold price, Wath upon Dearne Average sold price, S63 2 bedrooms £137,940 £126,299 3 bedrooms £185,561 £168,596 4 bedrooms £304,318 £293,070
Source: GetAgent, Wath upon Dearne and GetAgent, S63, October 2026 figures. Across the wider S63 postcode, which also takes in Bolton-on-Dearne, Goldthorpe, Thurnscoe and West Melton, the average asking price is £181,881. Homes also spend about 9 weeks on the market, with an average 2% cut in asking price (GetAgent, S63).
Yorkshire and the Humber is holding up better than many cheaper regions. HM Land Registry's official index puts the average sold price at £209,266 in August 2026, up 1.8% on a year earlier. England as a whole rose just 0.4% (UK House Price Index, August 2026).
In October, Rightmove found new sellers cut asking prices in four of the five lowest-priced parts of Great Britain. Yorkshire and the Humber was the exception, with asking prices up 0.3% (Rightmove House Price Index, 19 October 2026). What does that mean in plain English? Our area is steady, not booming. Homes priced right are selling. Homes priced too high are sitting, then getting reduced.
A note on the data: local figures from comparison sites move about month to month and are built on small numbers of sales. Treat them as a guide. For your own home, recent sales on your street and nearby streets matter far more than any average.
Does the market really go quiet in winter?
Partly, yes. But the new year brings more buyers and more competition at the same time. December is the quiet bit. Rightmove describes the festive month as typically the quietest period for home-moving, with Christmas Day the quietest day of the year (Rightmove press centre).
Then comes the Boxing Day bounce. Last Boxing Day was Rightmove's busiest ever for visits. Traffic nearly doubled (up 93%) from Christmas Day to Boxing Day (Rightmove press centre). In the two weeks after Christmas, buyer demand rose 57% compared with the two weeks before (Rightmove House Price Index, January 2026).
But sellers pile in too. Over those same two weeks, the number of new homes listed for sale jumped 81% (Rightmove, January 2026). On Boxing Day alone, new listings more than doubled (Property Reporter). So in January, your home is one of many fresh listings competing for the same buyers.
Homes take longer to find a buyer over winter. Rightmove's figures for Yorkshire and the Humber show the average time to find a buyer was 62 days in May 2025, 66 days in October 2025 and 75 days in January 2026 (Rightmove, January 2026). Part of that rise is homes that sat unsold over Christmas, so it doesn't mean a new listing in January is doomed. It does mean winter is slower.
One more thing. This year there are already a lot of homes for sale. Rightmove says stock is at its highest for the time of year since 2014 (Rightmove, 19 October 2026). Buyers have choice, and they know it.
The bigger picture: mortgages, interest rates and the Budget
The biggest pressure on buyers right now is the cost of borrowing, and nobody can promise it will be lower by spring. Mortgage rates have gone up this year. Rightmove's tracker puts the average two-year fixed rate at 5.55%. That's up from 4.25% before the war in Iran began in February, and adds roughly £250 a month to a typical new mortgage (Rightmove, 19 October 2026).
Interest rates could rise, not fall. The Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75% in September. Three of the nine committee members voted to raise it to 4% (Securities.io report on the September minutes). The next decision is on 5 November 2026, and a rise is being openly discussed (Cambridge Currencies).
Sales are still going through. Despite higher rates, the number of sales agreed nationally is only 8% lower than a year ago. Rightmove calls that surprisingly resilient (Rightmove, 19 October 2026).
Stamp duty is not expected to change this time. The Autumn Budget is on 28 October 2026. In July, the Prime Minister ruled out changing or scrapping stamp duty at this Budget (NRLA; Calculate My Stamp Duty). That applies to this Budget only, so it's worth checking what is actually announced.
Why does this matter to you as a seller? Because "wait for things to settle" is not a safe bet this year. If rates rise again, some buyers will be able to borrow less in January than they can today.
Listing now or waiting: the honest pros and cons
Both options have real upsides. Here they are side by side.
Reasons to list before Christmas • Less competition. Fewer new sellers come to market in November and December, so a good home can stand out. • Serious buyers. Anyone booking viewings in the weeks before Christmas usually has a real reason to be looking. • You're already on show for Boxing Day. When buyers flood back after Christmas, your home is there waiting, with photos and viewings history, rather than arriving in the January rush of new listings. • A head start on a spring move. A sale agreed in November or December can complete in early spring. • Today's mortgage rates. Your buyer can borrow on current terms. If rates rise in November, some buyers' budgets could shrink.
Reasons to wait until the new year • More buyers looking. Buyer demand jumps after Christmas, as the Rightmove figures show. • No Christmas juggling. Viewings, a tidy house and a festive calendar don't always mix. • Time to prepare. A few weeks to declutter, fix the small jobs and get paperwork ready can help your home sell well. • Your next move isn't ready. If you haven't found where you're going, or your plans hinge on something in the new year, waiting can make sense.
One thing applies either way. Price matters more than timing. A home priced right in December will usually beat a home priced too high in January.
My honest view: who should go now, and who should stay put!
For most people in Wath who are ready, I think listing in November and early December makes more sense than waiting. But not for everyone.
I'd lean towards listing now if: • your home is ready to show, or close to it • you know roughly where you're moving to • you'd like to be settled in your next home by spring • you're happy to price it in line with recent local sales The reason is simple. You get the quieter weeks with less competition, and you're already live when the Boxing Day crowd arrives. With mortgage rates uncertain, I'd rather your buyer locks in today's terms than gamble on January.
I'd suggest waiting if: • your home needs work you can't finish in the next few weeks • Christmas viewings would genuinely be stressful for your household • your onward plans won't firm up until the new year If that's you, waiting is fine. Use the time well. Get the jobs done, sort your paperwork, and aim to be ready to launch in early January rather than March.
What I'd never suggest is putting your home on the market at a hopeful price to "test the water". With the most homes for sale at this time of year since 2014, buyers have choice. Overpriced homes tend to sit, then get reduced.
Quick answers Is it a bad idea to sell a house in winter? No. December is the quietest month, but buyer demand rises sharply from Boxing Day. A home already on the market at that point is well placed.
How long does it take to sell a house in Wath? Recent figures suggest around 9 weeks to go under offer, on average (GetAgent). Completion can then take a few months more.
Will waiting for the Budget help? Stamp duty changes were ruled out for the 28 October 2026 Budget. Interest rates matter more for buyers right now.
Let's talk about your home, not the averages Every figure in this post is an average. Your home isn't. The right answer for you depends on your street, your house and your plans.
If you're in Wath or the Dearne Valley and you're weighing this up, I'm happy to have an honest chat. No pressure and no obligation. I'll tell you what I think your home would sell for, what's selling nearby, and whether I'd go now or wait. If waiting is the better call, I'll say so.
Lee Kayne, independent estate agent, powered by Keller Williams, Wath upon Dearne Phone: 07976 753914 Email: lee.kayne@kwuk.com
Your Home My Priority. Professionally Driven from Start to Sold.