Market still underpinned by high demand

The number of available properties per member branch has risen by 47 per cent since the depths of winter last year but demand has risen by 79 per cent over the same period. The number of agents reporting average price agreed at or above asking has held  steady since July when we saw a minor fall compared to June. This shows that the winds are still blowing in the seller’s favour, if not quite as strongly as before. Month-on-month we have also seen a slight increase in new prospective tenants registered and instructions, suggesting the autumn market may have started a little early.

The start of the autumn season?

The number of new buyers registering per member branch in August rose slightly over July potentially indicating the start of a pickup for the autumn season. There was 86 new prospective homebuyers registered per member branch in August—a 79 per cent increase since December last year.

Supply starting to recover?

There were 11 new instructions on average per member branch in August. New instructions have been fairly steady since December last year. 

The average number of properties available to buy per member branch was 28 in August. Marginally up since the winter dip but still well below the pre-pandemic average of 40 properties available in August (based on 2015–2019 figures). Nevertheless, 28 properties represents an increase of nine per member branch since December 2021—a rise of 47 per cent.

The market holds

Last month we reported that some buyers were starting to secure homes under the asking price, with 27 per cent of branches now reporting that most sales were completed below asking price compared to a low of just 15 per cent in March. August figures show no further slide.