The latest BriefYourMarket.com Property Index (analysing the combined on-market activity from Rightmove and Zoopla) has been published.

New properties coming to market last week saw a comparative increase on the previous week, with 4,060 additional properties being registered.

Properties changing status to SSTC saw a comparative decrease on the previous week, with 36,637 fewer properties being updated as SSTC.

Withdrawals saw a comparative decrease on the previous week, with 11,353 fewer being withdrawn.

Fall-throughs saw a comparative decrease on the previous week, with 2,165 fewer properties changing status from SSTC back to For Sale.

The top ten most impacted postcode areas for fall throughs in this period were: BN3, BS16, CR0, LE2, NG5, BN1, SK17, SM1, TN34 and BN2.

Commenting on the period 10.10.2020 – 16.10.2020, BriefYourMarket.com’s chief commercial officer, Richard Combellack, said: “The market looks as if it is certainly going through a definitive transition period right now, with two clear groups emerging: those that are certain about buying and selling in 2020, and those who have dipped their toes in the water over the last few months.

“And who can blame them? It has been nigh on impossible for prospective buyers and sellers to not get swept up in the consistent great housing news and saving incentives when they have been surrounded by so much uncertainty in all other areas of their lives.

“Even now, the great news continues; recent Rightmove reports indicate that there is a new national record for average asking prices, with average prices now higher than a year ago [the biggest increase for over four years].

“We have now reached a point where the market has got a robust cycle of supply. New listings coming to market on a weekly basis remain positive and very consistent. They have not dropped below 60,000 for the last 14 weeks and are, once again, up on the previous week by 6.5% comparatively.

“Sellers obviously feel in a more commanding position than ever too. So much so, that there have been some recent grumbles that they may be becoming a little too optimistic in their pricing, requiring a great agent to realistically set their ever-increasing expectations and keep their feet firmly on the ground.

“It seems that now is such a great opportunity to sell that many prospective sellers must be feeling that it will be a fairly simple process to achieve a sale at a premium price. Yes, it is great news that buyers are willing to pay a premium for property, but this does not apply to every listing, and that is where the transition comes into play.

“We have committed buyers that are searching for specific property criteria that fits their new needs. This means that most sellers who may have recently come to market in the last few months and weeks may have not taken a few fundamentals into account, most notably that a) buyers are more selective than ever, b) pricing needs to be absolutely perfect, and c) the massive volume of sales to process will have a huge knock-on effect on actual completion times. So, as the stamp duty deadline approaches – and the length to actually complete further draws out – it seems inevitable that we were going to see sellers who have recently come to market start to reassess if the time is right for them to sell right now.

“The main indicator of this change looks like it came in the previous week (week 41), where we saw withdrawal rates reaching their highest rate in 17 weeks. Last week, withdrawal rates reduced by 93.6% comparatively; the first time they have dropped below 6,500 for the last 25 weeks. This would indicate that some sellers have chosen to hold off on their plans to sell or are looking to re-launch under new representation, leaving only those who are confident and committed to selling right now.

“Confidence and commitment – during a time of further uncertainty – will now be the main driver for market progression. Recently Boris Johnston announced that parts of England would be sent back into localised lockdown based upon the severity of Covid-19 outbreaks within specific areas. This move came at a time when the market was in full rebound, with solid house price growth and buyer and seller demand rising. Although the new localised lockdown measures will make viewing property a little more precarious in tier-three zones especially, the official guidance – at the time of writing – is that estate agents will still be able to operate and conduct physical viewings with stringent safety measures in place. However, we should assume that both sellers and buyers in these high-risk areas will have reduced confidence in engaging in physical viewing activity.

“To conclude, the strong cycle of supply in terms of new listings shows that there is a massive opportunity for agents to service record numbers of market appraisals right now. There is obvious demand from prospective sellers (and those who are just curious in current circumstances) to get an updated price of their property. Now, some of these may not progress to instruction immediately, but it is a perfect opportunity to build relationships and pipelines for 2021.

“Similarly, whilst canvassing competitors’ on-market opportunities is not for every agent, there is a significant amount of on-market activity happening right now. Even though the market looks like it is steadying in terms of withdrawal fluctuation, how many of these properties were withdrawn by sellers who were unhappy with their first choice of agent and are looking to find new representation right now?

“All in all, certainly a more focused property market this week; one that is now highlighting those are ready to make a move from those who are browsing.”