Valuation requests hit record high as market heats up

Record numbers of property sellers requested a valuation last month, according to new statistics from Rightmove.

Total valuation requests were 23% higher in January than the previous record in January 2023.

January’s figure was also 27% higher than the third highest month on record for valuation requests in July 2020, when the housing market had reopened during the pandemic.

Fuelled

Confidence amongst many sellers and buyers to get the year moving is fuelled by the more stable mortgage market, Rightmove says.

Average mortgage rates have continued to move slowly downwards, with the average five-year mortgage rate now 4.64%, compared to the peak of 6.11% in July last year.

Future buyers

After the first month of the year, the number of new properties coming to the market for sale is 13% higher, while the number of future buyers sending enquiries to estate agents is 7% higher.

Tim Bannister, the portal’s Property Expert, says: “The early data suggests estate agents have had a busy start to 2024, with more market activity than at the start of last year.

It’s early days but the first month of data is encouraging.”

“This activity we’re seeing is likely to be a combination of those movers who have recently decided to make 2024 their year for a new home, and some pent-up demand from those who took a step back last year to consider their options while the outlook for mortgage rates was more unclear,” he says.

“It’s early days but the first month of data is encouraging.”

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