First week of housing market reopening in England – the stats so far

First week in the rental market

DEMAND

Demand for rental property is up 33% compared to this time last year as the market reopens and renters jump into action, with Monday 18^th May seeing the highest level of rental demand ever recorded in one day on Rightmove

STOCK & LET AGREED

Almost 23,000 new rental listings have come to the market since the first day of reopening, down 10% on the same week last year
Total available stock for rent is now up 13% since before lockdown

PRICES

Asking rents are currently up 2.1% on 2019, down from an annual rate of 3% before lockdown. They are on average £1,089 per calendar month (for all of Great Britain)

BIGGEST RISERS

Biggest increase in rental searches compared to last year are in Rotherham (+97%), Cambridge (+77%) and St Helens (+75%)

First week in the resale market

DEMAND

Demand for property up for sale is now down just 7% compared to this time last year, and up 120% compared to the previous week

STOCK & SALES AGREED

Almost 11,000 new sales listings have come to the market since the first day of reopening, 65% down on the same week last year although improving from 90% down during lockdown
There is currently £230 billion worth of property currently on Rightmove, circa 95% of the housing market
Total available stock for sale is down 2.5% since before lockdown

REDUCTIONS

1% of properties up for sale have been reduced over the past week, compared to 2% over the same week last year
The average size of a reduction over the past week was 4.5%, the same size of a reduction as in the same week last year

ASKING PRICES

Average asking prices of all property up for sale are up 2% on last year, the same as before the lockdown. The current average is £311,828 (for all of Great Britain)

BIGGEST RISERS

Biggest increase in buyer searches compared to last year are Manchester (+60%), Liverpool (+54%) and Leeds (+38%)

TRAFFIC ON SITE

On Tuesday 19^th May Rightmove recorded the busiest day since Thursday 5^th March, with almost 5.3 million visits, up 4% on the same day in May last year

Rightmove’s Housing Market expert, Miles Shipside, comments: “One week on from the surprise opening of the housing market and agents are still showing caution and quite rightly putting safety first, but many had already started to prepare during lockdown and so have been able to start reopening their branches and conducting viewings. The activity jump on Rightmove proves the determination of home-movers to continue with their plans over the next few months. The pause button put many of the usual metrics we report on out of kilter and so a week’s worth of data should only be taken as an early indication of activity, but it’s certainly encouraging.”