Ten-year high for homes selling in a week as stamp duty holiday speeds up market

Rightmove logo
  • The number of homes selling within a week of coming to market is up 125% compared to the same period last year, and is the highest number recorded over the past ten years
  • One in seven homes sold by agents since the stamp duty holiday was announced on 8th July sold within a week, compared to one in ten during the same time last year
  • Three-bedroom semi-detached homes are most likely to sell quickly, with one in five that sold doing so within a week, increasing to one in three in Scotland
  • However, Rightmove advises home-movers to consider allowing six months for the full process to have the best chance of making stamp duty savings before 31st March deadline

More sellers are finding a buyer within a week of putting their home up for sale than at any time over the past ten years, a 125% jump on the same period last year and 28% higher than the previous high recorded back in February 2016 before the Brexit vote.

 

The UK’s biggest property website Rightmove analysed over 200,000 properties that sold between 8th July and 31st August to reveal the impact of the temporary stamp duty holiday.

 

Sellers taking advantage of the surge in buyer demand are more likely to find a buyer within the first week of marketing compared with this time last year. One in seven properties sold by agents did so within a week of being listed on Rightmove, up from one in ten in 2019.

 

Just under one third (30%) of homes sold within the first two weeks of marketing, compared with one in five (21%) in 2019.

 

Sellers of three bedroom semi-detached homes have the best chance of selling their home within a week. Across Great Britain, one in five (19%) three-bedroom semi-detached homes sold by agents took a week or under to do so. This compares with 13% last year.

 

Four bed detached houses saw the biggest jump, with the proportion selling within a week doubling from 7% last year to 14% this year.

 

Across Great Britain the hottest market is in Scotland where a third of all three-bedroom semi-detached homes sold by agents took a week or under to sell (32%), compared to 20% in 2019.

The slowest market is in London where one in nine homes sold within the first week, though this is up from one in 20 in 2019.

 

Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside said: “Not only are more properties selling in the current market than at any time over the past ten years, but many sellers are finding that demand for homes following lockdown and the rush to beat the stamp duty deadline means they’re achieving a quicker sale, but only if they’ve been priced correctly. Not every home sells, but those that are well presented by agents, are on at the right price, or are just lucky enough to be in demand are among a record number of homes selling within the first week of coming to market since we started tracking this data ten years ago.

 

“There’s no point rushing a home to market without carefully thinking through the best way to market it and making sure it looks its best, which is something an expert local agent can help with. However, sellers do need to move more quickly than before because although we’re in unchartered territory with record activity it’s still likely that demand will start to soften as it always does towards the end of the year. The conveyancing log-jam created by the pause and subsequent market surge means that people thinking of coming to market really need to do so in September or early October if they want to have a chance of completing with enough time to beat the stamp duty deadline. Six months may seem like a while away now, but getting your property ready to sell, finding an agent, marketing the home, finding a buyer and then going through the conveyancing process doesn’t leave much time for any unexpected delays along the way, especially if you’re in a chain.

 

“Sellers of three bed semi-detached homes are in the sweet spot of the market, as they benefit from being the most in demand and the most likely to sell within a week. The bigger, top of the ladder homes are also proving more popular, though some of this may be a result of home-movers in wealthier areas who would usually have been on holiday bringing their plans forward.”

 

Proportion of all properties that sold within a week, nationally by property type

 

Property type % selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2020

% selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2019

All properties 15% 10%
3 bed semi-detached house 19% 13%
2 bed semi-detached house 19% 13%
2 bed terraced house 17% 12%
3 bed terraced house 16% 11%
4 bed semi-detached house 16% 9%
3 bed detached house 15% 10%
2 bed bungalow 14% 10%
4 bed detached house 14% 7%
4 bed terraced house 14% 8%
1 bed flat 11% 8%
2 Bed Flat 11% 8%
5 Bed detached House 10% 6%

 

Scotland

Property Type % selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2020

% selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2019

All properties 26% 17%
3 bed semi-detached house 32% 20%
2 bed flat 23% 16%

 

London

Property Type % selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2020

% selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2019

All properties 11% 5%
3 bed semi-detached house 18% 7%
2 bed flat 8% 5%

 

East Midlands

Property Type % selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2020

% selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2019

All properties 15% 11%
3 bed semi-detached house 19% 15%
2 bed flat 9% 6%

 

West Midlands

Property Type % selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2020

% selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2019

All properties 15% 11%
3 bed semi-detached house 18% 14%
2 bed flat 8% 8%

 

South East

Property Type % selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2020

% selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2019

All properties 13% 8%
3 bed semi-detached house 17% 10%
2 bed flat 8% 6%

 

South West

Property Type % selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2020

% selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2019

All properties 14% 10%
3 bed semi-detached house 20% 12%
2 bed flat 9% 7%

 

 

North West

Property Type % selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2020

% selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2019

All properties 15% 10%
3 bed semi-detached house 20% 12%
2 bed flat 8% 8%

 

North East

Property Type % selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2020

% selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2019

All properties 14% 8%
3 bed semi-detached house 17% 10%
2 bed flat 11% 6%

 

Yorkshire & the Humber

Property Type % selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2020

% selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2019

All properties 15% 10%
3 bed semi-detached house 18% 13%
2 bed flat 8% 7%

 

East of England

Property Type % selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2020

% selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2019

All properties 14% 9%
3 bed semi-detached house 19% 13%
2 bed flat 8% 7%

 

Wales

Property Type % selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2020

% selling within a week

8 July – 31 Aug 2019

All properties 14% 11%
3 bed semi-detached house 19% 16%
2 bed flat 9% 7%

Rightmove

UK Property news updates shared directly from Rightmove PLC - the country's leading property portal.

You May Also Enjoy

Letting Agent Talk

Letting Agency Owners: Are You the Bottleneck in Your Business?

As a letting agency owner, it’s easy to fall into the trap of wearing too many hats. But it’s not just exhaustion and burnout you need to worry about – it’s the impact it’s having on your bottom-line. Guest Blog By Sally Lawson – Agent Rainmaker “From managing client relationships and handling operations, to overseeing…
Read More
Breaking News

Latest developments in Renters’ Rights Bill: What landlords need to know

On the brink of becoming law, the Government last week rejected the majority of amendments put forward by the House of Lords, which would have mitigated the severity of some of the amendments. Property professionals, landlords and tenants are poised to navigate this once-in-a-generation overhaul of housing legislation.   Lucy Jones, Chief Operating Officer at…
Read More
Breaking News

What Will Commonhold Mean for Property Managers?

By Robert Poole, Director – Block Management, Glide Property Management, part of LRG The government’s ambition to end leasehold for most residential properties has put commonhold back into the spotlight. First introduced in 2002, commonhold offered a resident-led alternative to traditional leasehold ownership. However, legal and commercial complexity stalled adoption. Two decades later, policymakers are…
Read More
Breaking News

Think You Know Mortgages? These 5 Myths Could Be Costing You Money

When it comes to mortgages, most of us have had advice from family and friends. The trouble is, a lot of these so-called facts are myths, with many individuals missing out on better deals or opportunities, due to not doing their own due diligence. Emma Graham, Business Development Director at Hodge Bank, explained: “Mortgages are…
Read More
Breaking News

Just 17% of homes selling for more than £500k

The latest analysis by eXp UK has revealed that while just 17.4% of homes sold across England and Wales so far this year achieved a price of £500,000 or more, agents in London, the South East, and the East of England will face the greatest need to adapt should the Government press ahead with plans…
Read More
Breaking News

Estate agents back Rachel Reeves’ stamp duty shake-up but call for abolition without replacement tax

The latest research from GetAgent has revealed that the majority of estate agents in England are supportive of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans to overhaul property taxation by scrapping Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). However, 44% argue that the new levy should be focused only on higher-value homes, while 79% favour abolishing SDLT outright without introducing…
Read More