Online agents ‘struggling to break into higher valu...

The market share of hybrid and online agents has increased slightly but they are still struggling to break into the higher value markets of London and the South East of England, data shows.

Figures from property data company TwentyCi shows the market share of the hybrid or online agents for exchanges in the second quarter of 2022 was 7%.

It said this represented a small increase quarter on quarter, but is still significantly down from the high of 8% in 2020.

Purplebricks, Yopa and Strike remain the dominant brands representing almost 70% of online or hybrid activity, TwentyCi said.

Its report added that this cohort’s market share remains polarised to the lower value properties, mainly outside of London and the South East of England.

The market share for online and hybrid agents for properties worth below £200,000 was 9.7%, dropping to 7.6% for the £200,000 to £350,000 bracket, 5.2% for £350,000 to £1m and just 1.2% for sales above £1m.

Online and hybrid market share for exchanges in the Yorkshire and the Humber currently stands at almost 12%, according to the research, whilst it falls to 4% in the East, South East and South West of England.

The report also shows that the property market continues to defy the wider economic downturn with demand still outpacing supply.

TwentyCi estimates that 402,011 households are currently considering a house move compared with 365,873 in April 2022.

In addition, the number of households moving soon has also increased by 6% from 328,640 in April to 348,840 today.

Yet while property stock levels are slowly rising, the available months stock are still down by almost half on historical norms, according to TwentyCi’s research.

Aside from inner London, the whole of England and Wales has around two months’ worth of property stock left to sell, the report said.
Sales agreed have increased by 10% since the second quarter of 2019, while exchanges have jumped by almost 14%, highlighting the surge in activity that occurred throughout the pandemic.

April to July 2022 saw 358,149 sales and with this level of sustained activity, volumes remain on track for 1.2 million transactions in 2022, TwentyCi said.

In contrast, new Instructions are down by almost 6% compared with the second quarter of 2019.

TwentyCi said sellers can now command close to the asking price for their property, with no need to discount.

Withdrawal is also down by 35 per cent as sellers can achieve a quicker sale than in prior years negating the need to remain in their existing property.

Colin Bradshaw, managing director of TwentyCi, said: “Our previous observation that the owner-occupied sector appears to be detached from the woes that are befalling the wider economy continues to hold true.

“Transactional levels remain greater than 2019 and we are yet to see a sharp re calibration of the residential property market in either price or volume. The supply side issue of the right stock at the right price persists and buyers and sellers are desperate to keep chains intact or indeed willing to break chains to keep their buyer or seller happy. How much longer can it last? Perhaps this is now the new normal.”