Home buyers in race to beat the ‘sold’ boards
WOULD-BE home buyers are encountering more “sold” boards slapped on properties than at any other time in the last seven years, a report suggests.
Rightmove said prospective buyers are “seeing a lot of sold boards on properties they would like to buy themselves” – with more than 45% of estate agents’ property stock now being sold subject to contract.
This is the highest proportion recorded by Rightmove, whose report covers Wales and England, since it started recording the data seven years ago.
Rightmove’s findings for July come after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) reported last week that the average number of properties available per agency branch had fallen to an all-time low in June, at just over 42.
Despite continued high demand for properties and a lack of homes to choose from, stretched buyer affordability is acting as a brake on house price growth, Rightmove said.
In July, the average asking price on a property coming to market across Wales and England edged up by 0.1% or £312 to reach £316,421.
Wales saw one of the biggest month-on-month increases in asking price, in July, with a 0.6% uplift. Only London, which saw a 1.1% increase, and the West Midlands (0.7%) saw bigger rises during the month.
Asking prices in the south-west of England and south-east of England were flat month-on-month, with a 0% change.
The north-east of England saw the biggest month-on-month fall in asking prices, with a 1.3% decline, followed event was organised by production group Splatch and Penarth Circus, in association with Night State.
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Rightmove said the onset of the summer holiday season generally has a dampening effect on both prices and activity.
Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: “Prices are in the summer doldrums. Sellers coming to market at this time of year have to price more keenly as the traditionally bubblier spring selling season is over and prospective buyers are distracted by their own summer holiday plans.
“A year on from the shock referendum result and subsequent dent in activity levels, the fundamentals remain strong. Low unemployment, low interest rates, strong demand and historic undersupply of homes “The wire was hoisted up to the pier, to the ship mooring post, with literally minutes to spare, as the tide came in.” He added: “Ellis did the entire walk with no safety harness, and it was pretty windy on the day. “A pretty amazing feat of concentration and balance.” are mitigating any wobbles in confidence, and as a result nearly half the properties on the market, over 45%, have sold signs slapped across them.”
Rightmove also quoted the views of Mark Manning, director of Manning Stainton in Leeds, Harrogate, Wetherby and Wakefield.
Mr Manning said: “The market at present is certainly not one filled with great furore, yet demand still persists, particularly for good quality family housing at accessible price points.
“This year so far we have seen a more modest growth in our average sale price across our region, with activity on new listings and sales remaining broadly in line with 2016.
“That being said, evidence from our network suggests that certain pockets of the market are becoming a little more testing, which may indicate some price resistance creeping in as we enter the summer months.”