Propertymark: ‘Seller’s market remains

The seller’s market remains but the wind may not be blowing as strongly as before, Propertymark warns.

The latest member data from the agency trade body shows the number of available properties for sale per branch in August has risen by 47% since the depths of winter last year.

However, demand has risen by 79% over the same period, still far outpacing the level of supply.

There were 11 new instructions on average per member branch in August, Propertymark reported.

The average number of properties available to buy per member branch was 28 in August.

That is marginally up since the winter dip but still well below the pre-pandemic average of 40 properties available in August.

Propertymark added that it is still an increase of nine listings per member branch since December 2021—a rise of 47%.

At the same time, there were 86 new prospective homebuyers registered per member branch in August—a 79% increase since December last year.

The number of agents reporting average price agreed at or above asking has held steady since July when Propertymark saw a minor fall compared with June.

The report showed that 27% of branches are now reporting that most sales were completed below asking price compared with a low of just 15% in March.

August figures show no further slide.

Propertymark said in its report: “This shows that the winds are still blowing in the seller’s favour, if not quite as strongly as before.”

Nathan Emerson chief executive of Propertymark, said: “The number of people wanting to buy is still good, and the number of properties available to buy is recovering from the mad dash we had before.

“Buyers and sellers alike are aware of cost-of-living increases and interest rate rises, there are those of a generation who will remember much higher rates but there is a new wave of buyers who won’t have seen these levels before that will become more cautious with their budget.

“What we have today however, is the ability to be flexible on location due to remote working which has a large impact on price. This new dynamic will help home movers and is a factor that hasn’t previously existed.”