GetAgent: Buyer demand is rising

Buyer demand has continued to climb during the first quarter (Q1) of the year, research suggests.

Analysis by agency comparison website GetAgent suggests that buyer demand was up 1% in the first three months of 2024 compared with the final quarter of 2023.

GetAgent’s Hotspots Demand Index monitors homebuyer demand across England on a quarterly basis. 

Current demand is based on the proportion of stock listed as already sold subject to contract or under offer as a percentage of all stock listed for sale.

The latest index shows that 42% of all homes listed for sale across England had found a buyer in Q1 of this year. 

This marks a 1% increase in buyer demand levels when compared to Q4 2023, with the market returning to the same levels seen during the first quarter of 2023. 

The City of London that has seen the largest quarterly uplift in demand, with a 6% increase versus the final quarter of last year. 

West Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Tyne and Wear, Staffordshire, Durham, South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester have also seen some of the strongest quarterly growth in buyer demand levels with a 3% increase. 

On an annual basis, it’s Bedfordshire that has seen the largest increase in buyer appetites, with a +6% increase in buyer demand levels.

The City of London again ranks high with a 4% jump, with Berkshire and Greater London seeing a 3% increase, while Kent, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire are up 2%.

Bristol sits top as the nation’s hottest spot for current buyer demand, with 62% of all homes listed for sale having already been snapped up by buyers. 

Berkshire (49%), Tyne and Wear (48%), South Yorkshire (48%), Wiltshire (48%) and Bedfordshire (48%) are also home to some of the highest current buyer demand levels across the nation. 

Colby Short, chief executive of GetAgent, said: “With transaction volumes looking pretty bleak still, all of us in the industry are looking further up the funnel for signs of better things to come. Thankfully the buyer demand figures paint a reassuring picture.

“Not only is the percentage of stock with a sale agreed higher than last year, stock levels are also higher. These increases should compound nicely to produce some positive transaction and revenue figures later on this year which the industry is desperate for.”