The supply of available properties is still almost 40% below levels of August 2019 according to Rightmove this week. Sales are trending slightly lower although most experts think that we will see around 1.2m transactions by the end of the year which is about average.
The number of homes listed for sale as fallen 12.5 over the last year. Estate agencies have listed an average of 7.3 homes per branch across Britain in 2022 so far, down from an average of 8.4 in 2021 according to latest research. Surveyors agree that stock levels are very very low – but there’s been little change from July 2021 to July 2022 (36 sales listings per branch, on average). “A material pick-up in supply is unlikely to emerge in the immediate future,” warns the RICS.
The average number of properties available to buy according to Propertymark was 26 in June, with the number of new instructions holding steady at 10 – the same figure as the past three months.
Some people don’t get to decide when they have to move but even if you have decided to this autumn there are properties for sale and there is a functioning market.
Asking prices fell back slightly in July but are still 8.3% higher than they were last summer and sale prices remain 7.8% higher of the same period.
Off-market homes are still a source of stock for those who know where to look. Whilst estate agents have about 70% of what our clients buy there are still a lot below the radar.
I expect a busy second half of the year. Whilst some people are expecting prices to fall my view is that the rate of inflation is what will slow rather than prices actually fall and even if they did it seems very unlikely given current projections that prices would crash.