Houses selling for over asking price
With a shortage of houses on the market and high buyer demand, a large proportion of houses are selling for over asking price, reports Propertymark’s February Housing Market Report.
Propertymark does report an increase in property listings; the average number of properties listed for sale per member agent was up by 21% compared to January, bringing the total properties for sale at each member branch to an average of 23. This is certainly positive news and shows that sellers are becoming more confident and keen to start the ball rolling with moving.
However, when we look at the number of people looking to move registered at each estate agency branch across the UK, we see that in February Propertymark’s data showed there were a total of 590 prospective buyers per branch. This figure has been increasing since last year, and it means that for each available property for sale, there are 26 potential buyers. That’s a highly competitive market.
The data shows that many properties are continuing to sell for over the asking price, with February’s figures showing that 39% of all properties were sold for over the original asking price.
This was up 2% since January, and the highest figure that has been recorded since June last year when the market was particularly buoyant. A total of 41% of properties sold for exactly their asking price, and just 20% of buyers got themselves a bargain with a below-asking price offer.
First-time buyers are also faring well right now, with 37% of all sales made to new property owners.
Nathan Emerson, Propertymark’s Chief Executive, said: “It’s very positive to see more properties entering the market. The number of new buyers wanting to register is starting to ease, but agents’ books are still bursting with those still waiting in the wings who have missed out on previous properties.
“The amount of properties going for over the asking price is still a figure that’s over three times more than what we would see in a pre-pandemic market.”
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