One in 10 homes going under offer within a fortnight – claim

Stock shortages are seeing one in 10 homes get snapped up within 14 days of entering the market, GetAgent claims.

The agent comparison website claims that supply is so low in some areas that one in five properties are going under offer within the same timeframe.

This is based on Rightmove listings checked  by GetAgent on 17 June.

Regionally, Scotland is currently home to the hottest market where the proportion of new homes sold within 14 days is as high as 18%, according to the research.

In the south west of England, 13% of properties are being snapped up within two weeks, while in Wales, the west Midlands and east of England it’s 12%.

London is home to the slowest market in this respect, with just 7% of all homes sold within two weeks. 

At city level, Scotland remains top of the table, with Edinburgh (23%) and Glasgow (19%) seeing the highest proportion of for-sale stock selling within two weeks of being listed for sale. 

Bristol also ranks within the top three at 16%, while Portsmouth and Birmingham are also amongst some of the most likely to see a home sell almost immediately. 

Just Belfast ranks lower than London, where not a single home currently listed for sale on the market has sold within two weeks of first being put up for sale. 

Colby Short, chief executive or GetAgent.co.uk, said: “Since interest rates have begun to climb, the nation’s property prophets have been out in force to once again call the demise of the UK property market. 

“However, we’re simply not seeing this on the ground and while there has certainly been a return to normality where mortgage approval levels and the rate of house price growth is concerned, buyer demand remains extremely high and property values are yet to show any signs of decline. 

“In fact, the balance between supply and demand is so out of kilter that homes are selling subject to contract at pace and in many areas, with one in five doing so within just two weeks in some cases. 

“Of course, this doesn’t make the protracted process between accepting an offer and completing on a sale any quicker, but it does cut a considerable amount of time from the overall selling timeline.”

Percentage of homes listed within the last two weeks have already been sold subject to contract across each area of the UK market