Agents report huge leap in sales stock despite interest rate crisis
New figures from Propertymark show the stock drought may be over as each agent has 50% more properties on the books.
Estate agents have reported a 50% jump in the number of instructions at each branch despite recent interest rate rises.
The number for sale has leapt from 20 to 30 since April, Propertymark figures show.
Properties for sale per branch have not reached this high since March 2021 when it was 31 per member branch. However, the number then plummeted reaching a record low at just 19 in January 2022.
Whilst the number of homes for sale nosedived, the number of house hunters increased relentlessly, causing an explosion of house price rises.
The number of house seekers registered on estate agents’ books peaked in January and April this year with a noticeable dip over the summer months. In September, this figure picked up, standing at an average of 83 per branch.
Great news
Estate agents’ stock is replenishing, although figures still stand well below the pre-pandemic average for September of 41 properties available per member branch (2015-2019).
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark (pictured), says: “Over August and September, we have seen an increase in people wanting to get their homes valued and sold. This is great news for buyers who have missed out previously.
“With the economic climate changing, sellers will need to be realistic about the prices they might achieve, but as most people move every 15 years or so they are still seeing a considerable lift in value from what they would have paid.”
Propertymark’s September Housing Insight Report includes the current position of the rental market. Read a copy here
The article is correct. This IS GREAT NEWS but with one proviso. For this to be positive news for the market, the uptick in instructions must comprise homes that are priced realistically. If those homes are being priced up in the expectation of getting offers, then you’ll be spending your money trying to achieve the impossible. It’ll go against every molecule in your DNA but you’ll be doing your vendors, yourselves and the market a BIG favour by not ‘testing the market’ above what you think is a realistic price and even, maybe, refusing instructions. The uptick in applicant numbers is very likely at least in part due to people with properties to sell also looking to buy – but if those are overpriced then… Data can be read and interpreted in all kinds of ways to fit the narrative you want to see. It’s called confirmation bias. Data is great but it can also be dangerous when it’s misinterpreted. I’m suggesting you might be well advised to be very circumspect about how you spend your resources – that means that for the next several months you will need to be careful to concentrate what you have on motivated vendors who are pragmatic about the value of their property. A register full of overpriced properties has the potential to sink you. Please be careful.