Frothy sales market ‘over’ but lettings boom continues says chief
More people than ever are looking to live in the private rented sector as would-be buyers try to wait out the cost-of-living crisis and see how the current economic turmoil turns out.
More people than ever are looking to live in the private rented sector as would-be buyers try to wait out the cost-of-living crisis and see how the current economic turmoil turns out, research from Propertymark reveals.
The trade body says that more people than ever are now looking to live in the private rented sector with seasonal peaks and troughs coming back.
But it also says a buyer’s market will return by the end of the year – the status-quo pre-pandemic.
The cappuccino market days are over.
The average number of viewings fell by 71% from April to December with one agent crying that ‘the cappuccino market days are over.’
ESPRESSO
“We’re now in espresso times,” they said, “where only serious buyers are out looking for property.”
Propertymark says that this is because many buyers have decided upon a wait and see approach to the current economic turmoil.
Despite this, member branches have seen a fairly steady stream of new instructions on average over the year, with traditional DIPs in December (0% change year-on-year from 2021 to 2022).
Meanwhile, the total number of properties for sale has steadily risen over the year.
DIVERGENCE
Propertymark says that this is due to a divergence between new property instructions and numbers of homes sold primarily over the second half of 2022.
Nathan Emerson, Chief Executive of Propertymark, says: “The largest shift over 2022 for the sales market is in prices agreed compared to initial asking prices. Starting 2022 in a sellers’ market and ending the year back in the longer term normal of a buyers’ market.
“The seller’s market seen is unprecedented in our data which stretches back to 2013.
“As for lettings, a rising population and a lack of adequate housing construction has led us to a peak of demand from home hunters looking to rent in 2022. With such a mismatch in demand and supply, it is no surprise that rents have risen most keenly in 2022.”
This headline is rather misleading. Its hardly a lettings boom when there are no properties to rent. Landlords selling because of flawed government policies (and not just in housing look at the dangerous proposal on MOTs) rent freezes in Scotland, fear over Section 21 and the worse one up here is EPC costs. Until HMG get a grip and instead of listening to Shelter who do naff all to help those called tenants actually listen to some long serving Letting Agents it will get worse. They can come into my office and talk to those in tears because they have nowhere to live. This isnt a boom in places it is a crisis and talk of a boom is not helping the industry.