Agents have sold seven in every 10 homes in current market

A much higher than usual proportion of homes on sale in the current market have successfully found a buyer, according to Rightmove data. 

The portal’s analysis of over 13m listings - tracked from first coming to market to being listed as sold subject to contract - shows a 68 per cent success rate.

Looking between 2012 and early 2020, 53 per cent of homes found a buyer on average, with the other 47 per cent either being withdrawn from sale or staying on the market.

Scotland has the highest sales rate in Great Britain at 89 per cent with London the lowest on just 48 per cent.

The top 10 places where people were most likely to successfully sell their home are all in Scotland, with the top three being Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire and South Lanarkshire - all over 90 per cent.

Outside of Scotland the top three are Sheffield, Craven and Chorley - all just over 80 per cent - while the areas with the lowest sales rate are Westminster (22 per cent), Kensington & Chelsea (25 per cent), and Camden (28 per cent).

Tim Bannister, director of property data at Rightmove, says: “There’s been a much greater chance of a seller finding a buyer over the past year, which really highlights the sheer number of people who have been determined to move.

“While the long-term average shows that typically around half of properties sell, the increase in 2021 reflects the frenzied buyer activity we’ve seen in the current market, driven by multiple factors such as pent up demand and changing priorities.

“This efficiency in the market means agents are operating on limited stock, and they need more homes to satisfy all types of buyers.

“We’ve seen from previous research that Scotland often contains the most likely areas to find a buyer, and London the least, however the broader numbers are reflective of the trend we’ve been seeing all year, which is that buyers have widened their scope, and the popularity of every area in Great Britain is increasing.”