Increasing numbers of agents selling homes at or above asking price

Agents continued to report a buoyant market in May despite cost of living concerns.

The latest Housing Market Report from trade body Propertymark found 78% of respondents said most sales in May were agreed at or above the original asking price.

That is up from 39% in April.

The average number of new potential buyers registering at each member branch remained high at 90, while there were nine sales agreed on average per branch – the same as in April.

The average number of properties for sale per member branch in May was 22—in line with the average of the previous three months. 

Stock numbers remain low compared with the pre-pandemic average for May of 50, Propertymark said.

Time to exchange remains lengthy as well, with two thirds of respondents reporting that the average time from offer accepted to exchanging contracts in May was 13 weeks or more. 

This compares with a 2019 average of only 52%.
 

Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, said: “Despite a continued rise in the cost of living, interest rate rises, and the average price of a home in the UK falling just shy of £300,000, agents continue to report a strong, stable market. 

“Due to other potential interest rate rises in the future, buyers are snapping up properties quickly and taking advantage of current mortgage rates. 

“We expect these pressures to start to slow the housing market down but there are no signs of that happening any time soon.”