This week UK Property Market Stats Show’ for the week ending Sunday 13th October 2024 includes special guest, Kristian Stott, to discuss the property market headlines for Week 41 of 2024.
The main headlines:
+ Listings (New properties coming on to the market) – 34.3k UK listings this week (week 41), same as the week before. 7.6% higher 2024 YTD than 2017/18/19 YTD average. 12.1% higher than Week 41 of 2023.
+ Total Gross Sales – 26k UK homes sold stc this week (Week 41), which 26% higher than the same week (week 41) in 2023. Also, 7.8% higher than 2017/18/19 YTD levels & 14.3% higher than 2023 YTD levels. ·
+ Net Sales – 19.4k this week (19.4k last week). 28% higher than the same week in 2023 & still 14.3% higher YTD in 2024 compared to YTD 2023. ·
+ Percentage of homes exchanging vs homes unsold – Of the 1,193,637 UK homes that left UK Estate Agents books since the 1st Jan 2024, 638,035 of them (53.4%) exchanged & completed contracts (meaning the homeowner moved and the estate agent got paid). The remaining 509,242 (46.6%) were withdrawn off the market, unsold. In essence you a flip of the coin chance of actually selling, homeowners moving and the estate agent getting paid.
+ UK House Prices – Final September figures suggest a slight jump in this important metric to £340/sq.ft. For comparison – August’s Figures for the Sale Agreed £/sq.ft was at £338/sq.ft, and July at £341/sq.ft. This means house prices are stable. ·
+ Sale fall-throughs – Agents lost 5.5% of their sales pipeline in September. For the week, Sale Fall Thrus (as a % of Gross sales Agreed) remained stable at 25.3% this week. The 7 year Long Term weekly Average is 24.2% and it was 40%+ in the two months following the Truss Budget in the Autumn of 2022.
New Properties to Market: The UK saw 34,333 new listings. This year’s YTD listings stand at 1,447,394; 7.6% higher than YTD 2017/18/19 and 8.1% higher YTD 2023.
Average Listing Price: £423,808 (2024 weekly average – £440,840)
Average Asking Price of this week’s Listings vs Average Asking Price of the Properties that Sale Agreed this week: 14%. A Good low figure considering weekly 2024 average 22.2%)
Weeks Price Reductions: This week, 23,935 properties saw price reductions.
Percentage of Resi Sales Stock being reduced: 14% of Resi sales stock was reduced in September (long term average 10.6%).
Average Asking Price for Reduced Properties this week: £400,951. (2024 weekly average – £400,456)
Gross Sales: 25,966 properties were sold STC last week. 2024 weekly average : 24,865 Gross Sales).
Accumulative Gross Sales YTD: The total YTD stands at 1,019,545, exceeding the average YTD Gross sales figure of 945,592 from 2017/18/19 and 891,672 in the same week 41 in 2023.
Sale Through rate: (NEW MONTHLY STAT) : UK Estate Agents sold 14.79% of their Resi sales stock in Sept ’24. 2024 average is 15.83% & the seven-year long-term average is 17.9% per month – yet don’t forget that was only in mid/late 20%’s in the crazy years of 20/21/22).
Average Asking Price of Sold STC Properties: Still staying in the £350/370k’s range (like has been for 2 years) at £371,199.
Sale Fall Throughs: Fall throughs this week dropped to 6,525. YTD weekly average is 5,797.
Sale Fall Through % Rate: 25.1% for week 41. (Comparison – 25.6% for the last 3 months, whilst the long term 8 years average is 24.2% & it was 40%+ in Q4 2022 in the Truss budget!).
Sale fall throughs in September – 5.5% of the total Sales Pipeline fell through in September (8 year average 5.32%).
Net sales (Gross sales this week less fall throughs this week) – 19,441 net sales. Last 8 week average – 18,936)
Accumulative Net Sales YTD: The total stands at 781,849, 5.5% higher than the 17/18/19 YTD Net sales average (741,279) and 17% higher than the YTD figure for 2023 for Net Sales (668,114)
Resi Sales Stock on the Market : 724k at end of Sept (up from 710k at end of Aug). For comparison, Sept ’23 – 662k, Sept ’22 – 507k, Sept ’21 – 438k, Sept ’20 – 692k, Sept ’19 – 650k.
Resi Sales Sold STC Pipeline (Units) : 503k at end of Sept. For comparison, Sept ’23 – 410k, Sept ’22 – 483k, Sept ’21 – 550k, Sept ’20 – 489k, Sept ’19 – 368k.
Local Focus this week was Torbay.
One of the concerning things here is that whilst only 53% of homes listed end up exchanging (ie we get paid), we are only reducing 12% of our Resi sales sale stock a month. Overvaluing is the scourge of the industry. Now there is ethical and unethical over valuing .
As estate agents, we all know the importance of securing listings and delivering results for our clients. But how we approach property valuations can make all the difference between building long-term trust and damaging our reputations. This is where the line between ethical and unethical overvaluing must be clearly drawn.
Ethical Overvaluing is about transparency and collaboration.
It’s about presenting the client with all the facts and letting them know, from the start, that while the property may be listed at a higher price, this is part of a strategic approach. You’re upfront that the price may need to be adjusted after a set period if the market doesn’t respond. The key is to ensure the client fully understands the strategy and the potential outcomes.
This is what I consider how to Implement Ethical Overvaluing:
1. Clear Communication: From the moment you take on the property, discuss the valuation process openly with the client. Explain the market dynamics and why you believe a higher starting price could be tested.
2. Document the Agreement: Write into the sole agency agreement the client’s chosen price and your professional valuation. Make it clear that this strategy involves a planned reassessment after a few weeks.
3. Schedule a Review: At the time of listing, book a follow-up face to face appointment with YOU 2-3 weeks later. This ensures accountability and keeps the client informed, allowing for adjustments based on real market feedback.
Unethical Overvaluing, on the other hand, is when an lister inflates the price simply to win the listing, to hit a target or face the hurt of losing the listing.
This often leads to disappointment and mistrust when the property lingers on the market. In this approach, you hope your negs will manage to reduce the price later, while avoiding direct personal responsibility for vendor management.
This lack of accountability of the lister/valuer not only jeopardises the sale but also tarnishes your estate agency’s reputation.
By choosing the ethical approach, you not only protect your reputation but also build stronger, more trusting relationships with your clients.
It’s about being honest, using data, and ensuring everyone is on the same page from day one
What do you think?
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Well put Chris, the ‘ethical’ approach is harder work which means that it is rarely the chosen path but is the only way to take those instructions from the less inclined agent when they chose the ‘unethical’ path.
Don’t just fight fire with fire!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Overvaluing is not the problem. Vendors are the problem.
50% of stock doesn’t sell…
12 valuations a month
6 instructions
3 sales
75% of our time is a waste.
This is becoming unacceptable.
It would be such a great career if the govt weren’t repeatably absolutely useless.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Genuine question, is it vendors or the government’s fault, you accuse both but don’t elaborate on why, perhaps you could elucidate your point for the benefit of us all?
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register