Early indications suggest that the property market is bouncing back with Rightmove site interactions above 2019 levels, new instructions rising and sales agreed increasing.
Full property viewings on Rightmove are now stronger than 2019 levels, according to the portal. Rightmove indicate that a full viewing will involve potential buyers accessing all information provided on a property including floor plans, videos, images and written commentary.
Whilst these interactions with the site had dropped by 35 per cent whilst the property market was frozen in lockdown to increasing by 2 per cent above the figures from this time last year.
Market data provided by TwentyCi has also found new instructions and sales agreed to have enjoyed meteoric weekly increases since lockdown restrictions were released.
In the last seven days, up to and including May 19, over 13,000 new instructions and properties have entered the market. This figure represented a rise of 116 per cent
However, the data did suggest that the market should prepare for market volatility with prices reducing in recent weeks and fall through rates rising.
In the last week alone the number of homes reducing their asking prices or accepting offers below their asking prices rose by 198 per cent on the week earlier.
Similarly, fall through rates and aborted transactions had also increased by 163 per cent. Whilst it is fantastic that the market has responded so positively to the lockdown restrictions, TwentyCi is warning the sector to ‘keep an eye’ on these issues in the weeks ahead.
That being said, new instructions are currently at 40 per cent of the 2020 average of around 33,000 new instructions per week.
Sales agreed have also increased by 96 per cent to 6,800 in the last seven days. Again, this figure is currently around 30 per cent of the 2020 average which stands at around 23,500 transactions.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove’s commercial director and housing market analyst, commented:
“Many first-time buyers looking to grab a bargain right now may find they’re disappointed, as on the whole asking prices of all first-time buyer properties up for sale have been holding up. There will of course be some sellers who need to sell quickly and may be willing to negotiate on price so it’s worth asking your local agent if there’s any with this predicament if you do now need to lower your budget. However, where demand is outstripping supply and it’s an attractive property in a desirable location then an offer closer to the asking price will have a better chance of being accepted.
“If a property is over-priced it’s usually pretty obvious by looking at similar properties up for sale on Rightmove in the same area, or by using sold prices to find out how much properties nearby sold for recently, so this should help prospective buyers feel more confident that they know how much they should be offering” he continues.
“If lenders are able to offer more attractive lower deposit mortgages it would help sustain the recovery in activity. If it can be done responsibly, with strict affordability criteria, then a return to more mortgage offers of 90 per cent loan-to-value, or even 95 per cent could make a huge difference to someone having enough money now for a deposit or having to save up for another few years. First-time-buyers will be keeping a close eye on how lenders deals unfold.”
