Housing demand rose by a third in September to highest level for 16 years

NAEA Propertymark notes that housing demand rose by a third in September to highest level for 16 years in its September Housing Report.

Highlights:
  • The number of prospective buyers reached the highest level recorded since June 2004
  • An average of 14 sales were agreed per branch – the highest recorded since August 2006
  • A fifth of sales were made to first-time buyers in September – the lowest recorded since March 2013

Demand for housing

  • In September, the number of prospective buyers registered per estate agent branch rose by a third (33 per cent) from 396 in August, to 525 in September.
  • This is the highest number of house hunters recorded since June 2004, when 581 were recorded per branch.

Sales agreed                                                

  • The average number of sales agreed per estate agent branch stood at 14 in September, the highest figure recorded since August 2006. This is an increase from 12 sales agreed per branch in August.
  • Year-on-year, the number of sales per branch has increased by 75 per cent, rising from eight in September 2019.

Sales to FTBs

  • The number of sales made to FTBs stood at 19 per cent in September – the lowest amount recorded since March 2013, when the figure also stood at 19 per cent
  • This is a fall from 23 per cent from August, and 30 per cent in September 2019.

Supply of available properties

  • The number of properties available per member branch stood at 41 in September, rising marginally from 40 in August.

What properties sold for

  • In September, eight per cent of properties sold for more than the original asking price.
  • This is a fall from August’s high when 13 per cent of properties sold for more than the original asking price.
  • The majority (53 per cent) of properties sold for less than the original asking price in September.
Mark Hayward, Chief Executive, NAEA Propertymark, comments:

“Buyers and sellers always tend to flood the housing market in September with the hope of completing their transactions before the festive period kicks off. However, the pressure of completing sales ahead of the stamp duty holiday deadline means we’ve seen a large spike in buyers and sellers coming to the market – with an average of 13 buyers to every available property.

“This boom has been hugely beneficial for the housing market; however, with a stamp duty cliff edge on the 31st March, we are calling on Government to rethink these timings due to the increased pressure on service providers within the industry which is causing delays for buyers and sellers. Failure to find a solution to the cliff edge, whether that be a taper or extension, could cause thousands of sales to fall at the final hurdle and have a knock on and drastic effect on the housing market which has recovered well from the Covid slump.”

 

Kindly shared by NAEA Propertymark

Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay