Often people assume that the property market slows down over summer, but Strutt & Parker has found that the weeks leading up to the prime UK holiday season can be some of the most important in the property calendar.

July is peak time for British holiday makers and those with their houses on the market prefer to tie up a deal before they head off on holiday. Strutt & Parker can report that, despite the record rainfall, exchanges across all national offices are 20% up over last week, indicating that movers are keen to wrap up the deal before they go away.

Michael Fiddes, Head of Agency at Strutt & Parker believes "The increase in exchanges this week suggests that people are pushing through deals before they go away. This is not unusual for this time of year with schools recently breaking up and a host of families leaving the UK for their summer holidays".

Traditionally September is the start of the autumn market and a prime selling time for UK property. But before putting their home on the market sellers must choose an estate agent, and prepare their homes, finances and lives for their next move. Since many families go away in August, July is also a key time for agents to meet home owners and start planning a campaign to bring their property to market.

Fiddes adds "People who are thinking about a move don't want to worry about all the finer details when they are on holiday. For this reason our office has been busier planning for the autumn market. We're finding that people like to determine which agent they want to market their home with before they go away, even if they're not launching until mid-September".