New data from Rightmove has suggested there is plenty of cause for optimism as the market showed encouraging levels of activity in the early period of the year.
According to the property portal, new buyer demand is up by 4% compared with the same period in 2019, with the bounce back activity “bigger than usual” this year following an “extended year-end lull”. While this remains 36% down compared to last year’s busiest ever start to a year, Rightmove say this is simply the market “navigating its return to a more normal level of activity”.
What’s more, data shows the number of prospective buyers sending an enquiry to an estate agent about a property for sale jumped by 55% in the last two weeks compared with the previous two weeks compared to a jump of around 45% in recent years, marking the highest jump since 2016.
On 5th January, the number of people sending a request to an estate agent to value their home, typically the first step for a future seller, was the third largest on record, an early sign of market confidence. Indeed, the last week has been the busiest for these home valuation requests since August 2022.
However, even with the prospect of more sellers coming to market, the number of available homes for sale is still well below long-term norms. Yet, new data from TwentyEA revealed last week that supply since Boxing Day is up a third on 2019 levels.
This cautious optimism is also reflected in the price of new properties coming to market, which rose by 0.9% over the past month to £362,438.
After the market’s uncertain final few months of 2022, Rightmove say this familiar seasonality is a “tentative sign of stability”, with new sellers feeling confident to test the market, albeit at average asking prices that are 2% below October 2022’s record. “It’s still early days, but this is a more encouraging start to the year than many anticipated,” they add.
Tim Bannister Rightmove’s Director of Property Science, said these statistics give reasons for some positivity, adding that the numbers “certainly suggest that activity has bounced back” after Christmas. He concluded:
“We expect that the full effect of affordability constraints and last year’s mortgage rate rises will hold back some segments of the market in the first half of the year, but our leading market indicators may start to identify some green shoots of growth that will go on to strengthen in the second half of 2023.”
