OnTheMarket insists interest rate rise not weakening buyer sentiment

OnTheMarket says buyer and seller confidence has not been adversely affected by the first base rate rise in more than three years.

The latest edition of the portal’s sentiment index suggests the super-charged heat of the last two quarters has, to some extent, tailed off. Yet while there may no longer be scores of people queuing up to view a property, there are still good numbers of applicants keen to view new stock.

Chief executive Jason Tebb says: “Ultimately, with stock levels still low in comparison with last January, it remains a sellers’ market. Indeed, our data shows that 78 per cent of sellers remained confident that they would sell within the next three months, and that nearly three-quarters of active buyers were equally confident they would purchase a property within three months.”

As a further demonstration of continued market momentum, OnTheMarket says nearly 48 per cent of properties in January were Sold Subject to Contract within 30 days of first listing, compared with 36 per cent in the same period in January 2021. 

“While the stamp duty holiday may be behind us, this ongoing momentum is down to the fact that many of the key drivers encouraging people to move – desire for more space; changing, more flexible, work practices; and low borrowing rates – still remain” says Tebb.

Stock numbers are particularly low at the top end, especially the downsizer market, but OTM says it’s seeing a rise in the number of houses being valued, rather than just apartments, perhaps helped by the realisation that the trading gap gets larger in a rising market. 

Tebb concludes: “Overall, this remains a very promising market. There are motivated sellers requesting valuations and planning to come to market, coupled with motivated buyers who don’t want to miss out on a move this year. With positive sentiment fuelling all of this, it looks as though there are brighter days ahead for the UK housing market.”