Buyer demand up 11% as market makes strong start to year

Homebuyer demand is up 11% on the same time last year, as the property market bounces back from a difficult year, Zoopla figures show.

The portal says January and the first two weeks of February demonstrate a strong start, with activity spurred on by falling mortgage rates and pent-up demand from the second half of last year.

Out in front

Buyer numbers are up across all parts of the UK, but London is firmly out in front, followed by the North East and North West regions.

London’s housing market had lagged behind the rest of the UK for seven years since 2016 with low levels of house price growth due to stretched housing affordability, Zoopla says.

The average value of a flat in the capital is just 13% higher than in 2016, compared to the UK average house price being 33% higher and up to 50% higher in Wales.

Sales up

Zoopla’s latest data shows sales agreed are up across all regions and countries of the UK and more than 10% higher in six regions led by London, the South East and Yorkshire and Humber.

In 2023, the average sale took 34 days, from the property first being launched to the market to a sale being agreed, subject to contract. This is two weeks longer than the hotter pandemic fuelled market of 2022, when homes went under offer in 20 days.

The market is better balanced between sellers and buyers than it has been for three years.”

The longest sales periods in 2023 were up to 40 days in London and the South East, with the fastest sales periods in Scotland (20 days) and the North East (30 days).

“We expect rising activity to continue over the coming months. The market is better balanced between sellers and buyers than it has been for three years,” Zoopla says.

Buyer demand is up…but only slightly, new figures reveal