The usual summer slowdown could be turning into a bustling marketplace as buyers look to beat the Brexit deadline.
According to data from Rightmove, the number of agreed sales is 6.1% higher than August 2018, suggesting that buyers are determined to complete their home move before the October 31st deadline.
Whilst areas around the South East and London are struggling a lot more, some regions, like the North East, have experienced above average sales agreed of up to 10% more when compared with 2018’s figures.
Increased buyer demand is also having a positive impact on property prices. Overall, the trend of sellers accepting less money for their properties is reversing. Whereas the average seller was forced to accept offers 2.3% below the asking price in August 2018, this trend has been restricted to a mere 1% in 2019.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove’s property expert, said:
“For some reason more buyers have cottoned on to the fact that it can be a good time of year to buy, with less competition from other buyers, and sellers typically more willing to accept a lower price.
“Whilst another approaching Brexit deadline is now nothing new for prospective buyers, this one may seem more definite, and therefore one to beat, with the Government regarding this one as ‘do or die’.
“While the end of October Brexit outcome remains uncertain, more buyers are now going for the certainty of doing a deal, with some having perhaps hesitated earlier in the year.”
“More prospective movers are taking the plunge, getting stuck into deals with sellers more willing to lower their price expectations, and lenders wanting to lend and offering low rates.
“There’s only so long that buyers and sellers can delay the familial, financial and emotional forces driving the need to move, and with the average time between agreeing a sale and moving in being more than three months, we’re now entering the last chance saloon for those who want to have finished their move before the end of the year.”
Have conveyancers noticed an increase in agreed sales and completed sales in August?
