Rightmove says the excess of demand over supply right now is bigger than at any time over the past decade – making this, beyond doubt, a seller’s market.
The number of potential buyers enquiring about each available property in the month is at a record, and 34 per cent higher than the same period a year ago, which was itself an active market just before the first lockdown.
With sales already agreed for almost two out of three properties on agents’ books, Rightmove says buyers eagerly await fresh choice coming to market, making this the best sellers’ market of the past 10 years.
Start of traditional spring selling period has the number of sales agreed for the first week in March up by 12 per cent on this time last year despite the shortage of available stock.
The average price of property coming to market over the past four weeks has risen another 0.8 per cent, equivalent to £2,484.
“Concerns of a cliff edge for the housing market at the end of March have dissipated, partly due to the tax deadline extensions in all of the UK bar Scotland, but also because the already high level of buyer demand caused by the lockdowns has continued to surge since the start of the year.
“This demand will be further boosted from April by the new government guarantees enabling lenders to bring back five per cent deposit mortgages. Whilst it is unfortunately not the perfect time to buy for some people who have been adversely affected by the pandemic, the record buyer demand measured by Rightmove indicates that now is the right time for many.
“Record low interest rates and the new focus on what your home needs to offer after several lockdowns have led us to the greatest excess of demand over supply in the last ten years. This strong sellers’ market is good news for those who are looking to put their home on the market as the traditional Easter selling season approaches. Blossoming buyer demand coinciding with blossoming gardens should put a spring in the steps of sellers, and more of them coming to market will provide a much-needed increase in the choice of property for the many who are looking to buy.”
However the portal admits there are early signs that this supply shortage may now be easing, with more owners deciding to market their properties, spurred by the extension of government incentives and a more tangible roadmap to normality.
New listing numbers are seeing momentum building in their weekly run-rate, and for the first week in March were only five per cent down compared to the prior year after being over 20 per cent down in February.
“So many sales have been agreed in recent months that we now face a serious shortage of homes available for sale. There are lots of reasons why many home-owners have hesitated to come to market during the first two months of the year, but these do now seem to be dissipating. A recovery in fresh supply gives more choice to prospective buyers, many of whom are also potential sellers, which in turn encourages more of them to come to market.
“Greater supply to match the high demand would ease upwards price pressure. Price rises will also be tempered by the tighter lending criteria imposed by the Bank of England upon lenders following the Mortgage Market Review in 2014.
“Restrictions on borrowers’ income multiples alongside stress testing of future affordability were specifically designed to guard against the destructive booms and busts of the past, limiting buyer borrowing power and preventing excessive price movements. The current annual rate of house price increase stands at a historically modest rate of 2.7 per cent, but we stand by our forecast for the year of 4.0 per cent which we published in December.”
“Selling for the BEST PRICE, SPEED OF SALE and SERVICE are 3 Key components when choosing the right Estate Agent to sell your home”
So we thought we’d share some facts with you from Get Agent, an independent website who use historical sales data to help homeowners make the right decision on which Estate Agent can help them achieve these 3 key components Across all of our sales, we achieved 99.3% of the Guide Price as an average for our clients.
To put some context on this data and why its important to you as homeowners, if a client was selling a home at £300,000, by choosing Lennon James as their marketing agency, statistically speaking that client would walk away with £7,500 more for their home compared with the 2nd best performing agent locally (source of data: Get Agent)
As well as being able to generate the highest value possible, the speed in which an offer can be received is always high on the list of priorities for sellers when entering the market. According to the Get Agent data, the average sale time (from launching the home to market to receiving an offer) for us here at Lennon James is just 8 weeks. Compared to the next best performing agent at an average of 12 weeks. (source of data: Get Agent)
Having real tangible steps we have implemented to take ‘ownership’ of the entire process for those clients who need/want it has resulted in us being able to offer a richer, more rounded moving experience which is supported in the feedback we have received from past clients.
We are incredibly proud of these results. It outlines and reinforces the decisions we have made around ZERO CONTRACT, LIMITING THE NUMBERS of CLIENTS we work with and our BE-SPOKE MARKETING APPROACH to ensure we give ourselves the best chance of delivering the best result for every client that we work with.
Leading the way on every measure in all postcodes that we operate in is a huge achievement for all of us here. Thank you to every client past and present for putting your trust in us to be your marketing partner, we will continue to work as hard as we can to deliver the best results possible for you.
In PE26, we achieved a 99.3% of the original asking price achieved. Some 2.1% higher than the next best performing agent and achieving this in just 3 weeks vs 12 weeks to the next best.
In PE27, we achieved a 99.3% of the original asking price achieved. Some 2.5% higher than the next best performing agent and achieving this in just 7 weeks vs 12 weeks to the next best.
In PE28, we achieved a 99.3% of the original asking price achieved. Some 2.5% higher than the next best performing agent and achieving this in just 8 weeks vs 12 weeks to the next best.
In PE29, we achieved a 99.3% of the original asking price achieved. Some 2.5% higher than the next best performing agent and achieving this in just 8 weeks vs 13 weeks to the next best.
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