Report also suggests that market is shifting towards pre-pandemic levels
According to the latest report from Propertymark, almost three-quarters (72%) of their branches said most of their sales were below the asking price. This was just 15% in March.
However, pre-pandemic figures from Propertymark showed that the monthly average for sellers accepting below the asking price was 78%. Nevertheless, the report does suggest that the housing market is shifting towards a buyer’s market as it was also reported that the number of new buyers per branch fell to 52 in November, despite being 86 in August.
Propertymark’s report also claimed to show that competition from buyers has dropped with previous records showing 11 new buyers per property compared to just seven new buyers per property now. This as reflected in the number of homes for sale with their now being an average of 33 homes for sale in each branch in November 2022, which is a 74% increase since the start of last year.
These findings correspond with the Zoopla revealing at the end of 2022 that demand for houses has plummeted with buyer demand falling by 47% in Q4.
Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, commented:
“The sales market is firmly back in the hands of buyers who have been on the back foot for 18 months.
More property is available but the competition between those looking has cooled substantially. For those motivated to sell, good, solid buyers are still prominent.”
