Housing Insight Reports
Housing Insight Report: February 2024
In the residential sales sector, demand has temporarily slowed following the January post-Christmas bounce. Rents continue to fluctuate by location and property type, although there are some signs of stabilisation. As we progress into March and beyond, the re-establishment of seasonal trends should result in positive progress in both the sales and lettings sectors.
Housing Insight Report: January 2024
The new year has arrived and those who had delayed moving at the end of last year have returned to the market on mass. However, there has been little change in the economic environment that households must contend with. Interest rates are stable but are higher than those seeking mortgages or re-mortgages would prefer and inflation remains some way off UK Government targets.
Housing Insight Report: December 2023
December marks the end of an interesting and challenging year within the property market. In the wider economy interest rates have stabilised, however, inflationary concerns remain, and GDP growth has been anaemic. In response to these and other factors, house prices have fallen in some areas. In the PRS, tinkering by the UK and devolved governments and continued strong demand has caused rents to rise.
Housing Insight Report: November 2023
Economic uncertainty continues to pervade the UK economy and housing markets. In the residential sales sector, seasonal trends are undoubtedly weighing on market performance. In the lettings sector, supply and demand remain relatively static, but imbalanced with the equivalent of nine new applicants registered for each available property.
Housing Insight Report: October 2023
The Autumn statement had an upbeat feel and yielded some positive news for the housing industry. However, this is no time to celebrate while the cost-of-living crisis continues to limp on. In the letting sector, the number of new prospective tenants registered per member branch has decreased month on month since July 2023.
Housing Insight Report: September 2023
There has been a slight reduction in available properties for sale and this reflects ongoing market uncertainty. More concerningly, the vast majority of properties continue to sell below asking price pointing to a pricing correction despite average house prices continuing to rise. Governments across the UK continue to tinker with legislation and legislative programs, disincentivising landlords along the way. Supply in the PRS remains tight with far more applicant registrations than properties available.
Housing Insight Report: August 2023
There has been little urgency from governments across the UK to address the supply and demand issue by incentivising investment for landlords. The sales market is strong as we see a 29% rise in the number of new properties for sale when compared with last month.
Housing Insight Report: July 2023
As the number of viewings and valuations drop, this report indicates a shift to only the more serious homebuyers and sellers remaining proactive in the sales market. In the lettings market, we continue to see an alarming disparity in the number of homes available to rent when compared with growing demand from prospective tenants.
Housing Insight Report: June 2023
Despite disappointing national economic news, the number of valuations for sale conducted per branch has remained steady. The number of properties available to rent is 19 per cent lower than last year, while the number of new prospective tenants registering per member branch is up 27 per cent. This worrying mismatch between supply and demand continues to put pressure on rents.
Housing Insight Report: May 2023
Despite the current economic conditions, it is reassuring to see that the number of new prospective buyers coming to the market is only four per cent lower than last year when the sales market was in a frenzy. In terms of lettings, a worrying mismatch is continuing in supply and demand levels.
Housing Insight Report: April 2023
The fall in demand from buyers has allowed the number of homes available for sale to recover some. But we are seeing a steady level of transactions happening which is good news for the market and the wider economy. In the rental market, we are still seeing the demand for property grow but no increase in homes.
Housing Insight Report: March 2023
With the number of sales and appraisals month on month remaining healthy, a strong appetite continues within the sales market. In the lettings sector, the issue of undersupply remains with no movement seen in the number of properties available to rent. This translates to an average of 10 prospective tenants registering per available property.
Spring is in the air
There has been a lot of doomy whispers about the housing market since last Autumn, but the activity being seen by Propertymark agents paints a robust picture. Transaction levels year on year have been stable and listings of new properties coming to the market have also been steady. The lettings market remains very much out of balance with an average of ten registered applicants per property.
January sees market uptick
The average number of new prospective buyers registered per member branch rose from 39 in December to 70 in January. This jump in demand is a regular seasonal trend and suggests buyers have been waiting in the wings to start the hunt for their ideal home in the New Year.
Savvy buyers snap up a Christmas bargain
The sales market is firmly back in the hands of buyers who have been on the back foot for 18 months. As for lettings, we are starting to seeing a decrease in demand, the knock on effect is that less agents are seeing rent rises.
Market softens following economic and political turmoil
Our figures indicate that we are on the cusp of seeing the sales market hand back purchasing power to buyers which is a trend we haven’t seen in months. As for lettings, we are seeing a slight decrease in the number of prospective tenants registered per branch as due to the ongoing lack of supply.
Homes for sale increase by 50 per cent
The sales market is continuing to rebalance after the intense demand of the past two years. The rental market continues to be fueled by high demand and low supply. The number of our agents reporting rent increases is down but the UK-wide reform of this part of the market is continuing to affect the sentiment of landlords.
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. Whilst on the letting's side, the number of new tenants registered on average (per member branch) reached a new peak at 141 in August.
More renters staying put as demand hits new peak
PRS REPORT: A new peak in the number of people looking for a home to rent is fuelling a rise in renters choosing to renew their existing tenancies rather than moving, evidencing the 'Big Stay Put'.
Significant slowdown in sales process
HOUSING REPORT: Agents reporting average time from offer accepted to exchanging contracts has been growing over the past two years. This month hit a new record with 41 per cent of agents reporting average times stretching over four months. We are continuing to see the evidence of a summer dip as buyers and sellers turn their attention to holidaying.