Purplebricks tops leaderboards for sales and listings...

Purplebricks was the top brand for new listings and sales agreed during March, new data shows.

A new quarterly market report launched by prospecting tool Spectre has highlighted the health of the market during the first three months of the year.

The analysis shows that despite Purplebricks’ own troubles on the stock market and its efforts to sell the beleaguered business, the online brand had the most listings last month and came top for sales agreed.

William H Brown came second for both measures.

The remaining top five brands for new listings during March were Connells, Hunters and haart, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the top brands for sales agreed were Hunters, Connells and Yopa.

Assessing the health of the market during the first three months of 2023 compared with the five-year average for the first quarter of the eyar, the report highlights that new listings are down 5.55%, price reductions have risen by 36.5% and fall-thropughs are up by 1.23%.

The document adds that sales agreed are down 8.65% , while in some positive news, withdrawals are 31.39% below the five-year average for the period.
Despite all the minus signs, the report suggests the market “isn’t as bad as the media is portraying.”

It said: “The number of properties dropping their prices is through the roof, there’s a continual decline in agreed sales and listings are taking longer to shift.

“In any other market, this should be a cause for concern and understandably, fear has been spreading. However, for the last few years, the property market has seen exceptional growth.”

These movements should be seen as market conditions normalising and returning to a more manageable baseline rather than viewing them as drastic shifts compared to last year, the report said, adding: “The market is still healthy and for those with the right skill set, it will prove no challenge.”

The document also suggests that agents are under pressure to overvalue property.

It said: “Consumer expectations surrounding pricing are overinflated from last year’s boom, and as a result reductions are on the rise.

“Agents are feeling pressure to overvalue property - and while this approach may lead to more instructions, agents risk losing listings to competitors following a price reduction. If agents choose to price appropriately, it’s essential they provide accurate information and data to a vendor who will likely have higher valuations. A strong prospecting strategy is also critical if that valuation is subsequently lost to a competitor.”

> Download the report