Propertymark’s Housing Market Report shows property market continues to thrive

Propertymark’s publication of its latest Housing Market Report shows property market continues to thrive with March doing better than February.

Propertymark’s latest Housing Market Report shows that one in six properties (16 per cent) sold for more than the original asking price, which is the highest recorded since May 2014 when it was 19 per cent. The March figure is also an increase from February, where 11 per cent sold for more.

On the flip side, 33 per cent of properties sold for less than the original asking price which is the lowest number since our records began.

Record sales

The average number of sales agreed per estate agent branch was the highest recorded for the month of March since 2007. It stood at 12, which is also a slight increase from the 11 reported in February and has risen consecutively each month since December 2020.

Demand for properties

The number of house-hunters are on the up with first-time buyer sales growing by two per cent from February, standing at 27 per cent, and is the highest number since June 2020. The demand for housing is not faltering with the average number of properties registered per estate agent branch increasing to 409, a rise of 21 from February.

Availability falls

The number of properties available per branch fell to 31 from 34 reported in February. This means there is an average of 13 buyers for every available property on the market.

Read the full report

Mark Hayward, Chief Policy Advisor at Propertymark, says:

“It is fantastic to see the property market continuing to thrive, fuelled by the announcement to extend the stamp duty holiday. The pandemic has meant many homeowners currently living in urban and city areas have reconsidered their lifestyle and are now reprioritising how and where they want to live, especially with working from home becoming the new normal. The imbalance of supply and demand means it’s an extremely strong sellers’ market; properties are selling quickly and for over the asking price, and this is something we expect will continue in the coming months.”

Kindly shared by NAEA Propertymark