Rightmove: Detached properties are leading rise in home sales

The number of sales agreed is on the rise and the Somerset town of Chard has become a new hotspot, Rightmove claims.

Figures from the portal show that the number of sales being agreed is currently 13% higher than at this time last year.
 
This growth is primarily being driven by sales of detached houses, currently 17% higher than at this time last year, while smaller flats lag behind with a 6% rise.

Chard, a town in Somerset, is the new sales hotspot, with the number of sales agreed more than doubling (+123%) compared with this time last year, Rightmove said.

Second on the list of new sales hotspots is Hilton, in Derby, with an 112% annual increase in agreed sales and Padgate in Warrington is third.

Rightmove’s property expert Tim Bannister said: “For a long period during the pandemic and into last year, there was very little availability of larger homes. With not much choice of property to move to, this deterred some larger-home sellers from coming to market. Last year, movers had to adjust from historic low mortgage rates to much higher levels.

“Whilst some larger-home sellers may have built up more equity over time, others looking to take out a larger mortgage on a more expensive home would have been particularly impacted.

"Now, rates have come down from their peak, whilst prices have remained stable, and we have a group of larger home sellers who are seizing the opportunity to come to market. The increased choice is being met with more demand, resulting in higher numbers of sales.”