A cooling of demand and a small increase in the number of properties on estate agents’ books is giving consumers more choice and helping to create a more balanced sales market, according to Propertymark’s May housing insight report.
The estate agency membership body’s members reported the average number of new prospective buyers registered per branch decreased to 64 during May. Although the number of properties coming to market dipped slightly, static sales meant stock levels showed a marginal increase with an overall average of 44 properties for sale at each member branch.
The average number of sales agreed per member branch was static at eight, the same figure since March 2026, which Propertymark CEO said demonstrates market resilience “despite ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty”.
He added: “While we have seen a slight dip in prospective buyer registrations, stock levels have edged upwards, giving consumers more choice and helping to create a more balanced sales market.”
Market appraisal volumes dipped slightly compared to previous months, from 23 in March to 20 in May, with the number of prospective buyers registered per member branch continuing to fall since the start of the year, to an average of 64 by May.
The regular measure of time taken from acceptance to exchange showed four in 10 agents reported most of their sales were taking over 17 weeks, a jump from the May figure of just under one in three (33.1%).
Ahead of the Bank of England base rate decision on Thursday, Emmerson said recent holds had “provided a degree of stability, but affordability remains a significant challenge for many households, with buyers continuing to take a cautious approach”.
“This is reflected in properties typically achieving below the asking price and transactions continuing to take more than 17 weeks to progress from offer acceptance to exchange.”
