NAEA Propertymark (the National Association of Estate Agents) has today released its January Housing Report, which shows that an average of 11 buyers are now chasing every property on the market.
11 Buyers Chasing Every Property on the Market
An imbalance between supply and demand means that every homebuyer is facing competition from ten more prospective buyers.
Housing demand
The average number of prospective buyers registered per estate agency branch in January was 425 – up by 10% on December 2016, when NAEA members registered 386 on average.
Property supply
The amount of properties available to buy on estate agents’ books in January stood at an average of 38. This is down from 41 in December, and the lowest recorded since July 2016.
The rise in homebuyers and decrease in properties on the market means there is an average of 11 buyers chasing every home.
Home sales
In January, three in ten (30%) property sales were made to first time buyers – a slight decline from December, when 32% of sales were made to this group.
The number of sales agreed per branch rose from an average of six in December to eight last month – returning to the same level seen in November.
Sale prices
More than one in every 20 properties (7%) sold for more than the original asking price in January – the highest amount since April 2016, when 9% sold for more than the asking price.
The Chief Executive of NAEA Propertymark, Mark Hayward, says: “January saw a surge in buyers looking to kick off the New Year with a new home, but competition is rife, with an average of 11 buyers chasing each property.
“The increase in the number of properties selling for more than the asking price in January could be a result of heightened interest and the fact there is simply not enough housing to meet demand.”
He adds: “When the Government issued their Housing White Paper at the start of February, we stated how important it was for the industry to put forward robust solutions to really make a difference, and it’s vital that building more affordable housing is at the very top of their agenda.”