Increase in quick-sale vendors hitting the market

The number of home sellers looking to sell their home quickly in the current market has increased by 12%, new research suggests.

Quick buy firm House Buyer Bureau analysed the number of homes currently listed across the market in England with sellers who are looking to sell quickly, as well as the discount they are offering when it comes to asking price versus the rest of the market. 

It found that sellers and their agents are also slashing their asking price expectations by a higher margin in order to do get a faster sale. 

The analysis, sourced from PropertyData, shows that currently there are almost 2,000 homes listed for sale across England with the seller specifically stating they are looking to sell quickly. 

This marks a 12% increase in so-called quick-sale stock when compared with June of last year when the market was flying high, House Buyer Bureau said.

The regions with the largest increase in quick sale stock are the South West, the East Midlands and the West Midlands, all with an increase of almost 60% versus June of last year. 

Those looking to sell quickly are always likely to lower their price in order to entice buyers, but it seems that in the current market they are doing so to an even greater extent, according to the research.

Back in June of last year, the average quick sale home was listed for 8.8% less than the average asking price across the rest of the market. Today, this asking price reduction has climbed to 11.1%. 

London is not only home to the largest asking price reduction for quick sale properties in the current market at 19.5%, but it has also seen this gap widen by the largest margin since last year when quick sale sellers were reducing by just 9.9%. 

Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of House Buyer Bureau, said:  “There are plenty of reasons a seller may want to move swiftly and these can range from a recent bereavement, financial difficulty or relocating for work, amongst other things. 

“That said, home sellers are a savvy bunch and so it’s no surprise that following a sustained period of slower house price growth, we’ve seen an uplift in the number of homes reaching the market specifically in search of a quick sale.

“This has almost certainly been in anticipation of a house price drop, the first signs of which have now come to the surface and the likelihood is that many more will now follow suit before the rot sets in.  

“With the price they are able to achieve clearly a primary factor behind their decision, it may seem strange that they are also opting to slash their asking price expectations by a greater margin to secure a buyer. 

“However, due to the high rates of growth seen since the pandemic, even when implementing this discount they are still marketing at a higher asking price compared to the regular market back in June of last year.

“So not only are they able to benefit from the recent boom, they can do so while selling quickly and avoiding any impending bust.”