October housing demand is still very high in the UK, say NAEA Propertymark

The average number of prospective buyers registered per estate agent branch reached 451 in October, the highest number ever recorded for that month, the October Housing Report published by NAEA Propertymark found.

In October last year there were 341 house hunters on average per branch.

However there were still fewer than the 525 recorded in September.

Mark Hayward, chief executive, NAEA Propertymark, said:

“Typically, we see the property market slow down as we approach the festive period and people put their sale on hold until the New Year.

“However, the pressure of completing sales ahead of the Stamp Duty holiday ending means that we have seen the number of potential buyers and the number of sales completed remain unusually high for this time of year.

“This boom has been hugely beneficial for the housing market; however, we are increasingly concerned about the impact of the stamp duty cliff edge on 31st March 2021.

“This cliff edge has already increased pressure on service providers within the industry, causing delays for buyers and sellers, and could cause thousands of sales to fall through at the final hurdle as buyers realise their sale will not be completed ahead of the deadline.”

The number of properties available stood at 39 per branch in October, falling from 41 in September.

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