Is your Rightmove search page looking a bit slim? No, you haven’t accidentally put too many bedrooms in the search bar or chose the wrong Property type, that is genuinely the number of homes on the market right now. Due to ongoing uncertainties with the pandemic, house stock has stagnated for quite some time and seems to keep dropping according to Property mark, the membership body for Property agents. Propertymark has released a statement today that discloses that the average sales agreed has decreased to eight per cent per estate agent branch – a 36 per cent fall from September 2021. However, the drop brings the market back in line with pre-pandemic levels which is a sign that things may go back to normal sooner than we think.
“Demand”
They have also reported that housing stock has continued to fall throughout October, with a slight increase from September’s average of 23 down to 21. This means that, on average, there is currently 24 buyers per available home on the market. Interestingly, despite demand, the number of sales being agreed over the asking price has continued to fall for the second consecutive month as we reported earlier in the month. Properties agreeing sales at over the asking price dropped to 21 per cent in October from 27 per cent in September.
“Unsustainable”
C.E.O. of Propertymark Nathan Emerson has said: “Figures from October show a continuing picture for the housing market which is unsustainable. Heading into the festive period should take some of the heat out of the market as we know that usual market trends see a decrease in activity as people turn their attention to Christmas. However, with so many buyers still hungry for their new home, sellers would do well not to put moving plans on hold for too long. What we need to see in the new year is a gentle levelling out, which could be driven by new year motivations delivering new sellers or changing interest rates taking some of the mounting energy from buyers.”
If you are starting your house buying journey and want to discuss your best options when house hunting, feel free to give our team a call on 02088771169
