The number of residential properties for sale in the UK has steadily declined this year, with the latest research by Propertymark revealing that an average estate agency branch now has around 23 properties listed to for sale, with 19 buyers on average showing interest in any one property.
Pre-pandemic, the trade body says that properties experienced 13-14 viewings before landing a sale. But now, some agents are selling properties after showing them to just a handful of prospective buyers.
The lack of housing stock coming onto the market has left some agents with a chronic shortage of properties for sale, but Nathan Emerson, Propertymark’s chief executive, believes that the housing stock shortage will not resolve itself this year “by any stretch of the imagination”.
Erica Hinwood, Nicol & Co’s sales manager, said: “We currently don’t have anything for sale, as every single one of the properties we have been marketing for sale is under offer.”
Hinwood added: “This very temporary situation where we have ‘sold out’ of all our stock reflects on the swift and successful activity by the team here in the Malvern office.”
Comments (4)
There will be a lot of sales offices closing over the next twelve to eighteen months. A lack of supply, but with the building clouds of increased inflation which will lead to an increase in interest rates. The rates are so low that even small increases are proportionally a high percentage of the total repayment. Make sure you have taken some of the cream that has come our way over the last twelve months and put it away for the inevitable rainy day that is coming.
I can see stock being the biggest issue over the coming months. We’ve already experienced over the height of the market a number of people not wanting to come to market yet as they’ve not seen anything they like; we’re only going to see more of this in the next short while.
Lots of offices around me with 80 odd total properties and only 8-10 for sale. Great pipeline for now, issue in 3-6 months time!
After the crazy crazy times of the last 15 months. Stock levels are clearly the biggest challenge we all face.
In our group we have one branch which by the end of the day will have just 1 available home.
1 branch which has just 6
And another with just 7
Head office is better placed with 70+ but the number drops month in month out. For perspective the head office had 400 this time last year.
It’s tricky to see how our smaller branches will be able to make money in the coming months as generally lower listing months.
We are also experiencing terrible overvaluing by agents and a much higher downvaluation issues even on the stuff we think we have valued correctly.
Add in vendors who we have successfully sold and got the mortgage offer on their home. Only to get the call that they have given up searching for an onward move.
I think the next 12 months might be the most challenging for the industry for quite some time..
This is showing how govt is asleep at the wheel again.. massive squeeze in property, creating a fake market where the majority of hard working people cant afford to move…
hate negativity, but this wont end well. . might kill purpleshits off though so not all bad.