Property market is improving
Property market is improving, but more sellers are cutting prices and withdrawing from the market
The latest market data analysis from House Buyer Bureau has found that whilst the property market is showing signs of improvement, more sellers are still being forced to cut their asking price, endure a failed sale, or withdraw from the market altogether.
House Buyer Bureau analysed the latest market data from TwentyCI, looking at the volume of new instructions, sales agreed, exchanged sales, fall-throughs, price reductions and withdrawn properties to see how current market conditions compare to a year ago.
The analysis shows that the number of new instructions has increased, up by 2.1% on an annual basis, highlighting that sellers are continuing to enter the market.
At the same time, sales agreed increased by 2.3%, whilst the number of transactions progressing all the way to exchange rose by 12.6%, also suggesting that buyer activity levels have improved over the course of the last year.
Together, these improving market conditions portray a market that is largely heading in the right direction after a period of stagnation caused primarily by increasing interest rates.
However, the analysis by House Buyer Bureau also shows that many sellers are still finding it difficult to navigate current market conditions.
In fact, the number of homes seeing an asking price reduction has increased by 10.8% on an annual basis, as many sellers were forced to adjust their price expectations in order to secure a buyer.
At the same time, the number of sales falling through is up by 4.5% year on year, demonstrating that even when a buyer is secured, the landscape remains an uncertain one and a sale is far from guaranteed.
No surprise then, that with market volatility remaining, the number of homes withdrawn from the market has also climbed by 7.6% annually, as more sellers have grown weary with
Managing Director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, commented:
“For all of the talk that the property market is improving, these figures show that the experience for many sellers remains incredibly difficult.
More homes are selling and more transactions are reaching exchange, but this increase has been largely driven by the fact that sellers are being forced to lower their asking price in order to secure a buyer.
At the same time, we’re still seeing a growing number of sales collapse, and many sellers are simply giving up and withdrawing from the market altogether because they have become exhausted by the process.
The reality is that selling a home remains a long, uncertain and often costly experience. Buyers are taking longer to commit, affordability remains stretched, and chains are still incredibly fragile.
It remains a testing landscape for the market despite improvements to mortgage rates over the last year and recent geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the conflict in Iran has cast further doubt over the wider economic outlook. As a result, many buyers are still hesitant, lenders remain cautious, and transactions are taking longer to complete.
As a result, we’ve seen a growing number of sellers opting for the speed and certainty provided by a quick sale platform and who can blame them?”
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