New conveyancing logjam pushes offer to completion to 150 days – claim
Comments are made by Rightmove's data chief Tim Bannister in the portal's latest house price index commentary.
Rightmove says the housing market remains constrained by a yet another conveyancing logjam, its latest house price index report has said.
The portal also reports slowing price rises across the UK, saying that affordability constraints, a better balance between supply and demand, and usual seasonal price drops will contribute to further slowing of price growth in coming months, with annual growth still on track to be 5% by the end of the year.
But the time it takes to sell a home is a key concern of Tim Bannister (main pic), its Director of Property Science, who says a conveyancing log-jam means that those who are looking to move this year and have yet to act will need to do so in the coming weeks.
“It is currently taking 150 days to complete a purchase on average after agreeing a sale, 50 days longer than at this time in 2019,” he says.
Christmas
“This means that those who are hoping to complete a deal in time to enjoy next Christmas in a new home, need to come to market in the next few weeks to give themselves the best chance of finding a buyer and completing the transaction by the end of the year.
“There are more than 500,000 homes that are currently sold subject to contract, a massive figure which is 44% higher than it was at this time in 2019, and 39% higher than the pre-pandemic five-year average.
The portal is also telling homeowners looking to move that they should secure an offer on their home before beginning to look for their next home which is a result of many vendors stipulating that agents vet potential buyers as ’proceedable’ before even allowing viewings.
Pleased to report that a PIP Vault from piphome allowed me to exchange my last sale in 2 weeks and a day. By preparing the information “Up Front” and making it available to potential buyers during the marketing phase, before they offer, not only are quicker exchanges possible, but fall through rates are significantly reduced.