As the property drought tightens its grip, average asking prices for property new to the marked bounced up by 2.1% over the last month, Rightmove reported this morning.
The increase equates to an average of £5,729, with annual asking prices up 8.2% on this time last year. Rises in asking prices are reported in all regions of England and Wales.
Rightmove said that some agents are reporting the lowest ever stock of quality property for sale, meaning that there is little for home movers to trade up to.
It said that lower owner occupation, buy-to-let landlords not selling, and owners’ reluctance to put their home up for sale until they had found their next property, were all contributing to a 4% fall in new seller numbers compared with a year ago.
There are just 58 properties for sale per agency branch, up just one from December but down from 64 a year ago.
Rightmove said that stock had never been lower at the start of a year.
According to Rightmove, a 31% increase in housing transactions in the last two years in England and Wales has outstripped the 11% increase in the number of new properties coming to market over the same period.
Director Miles Shipside said: “Many who are contemplating moving will have noticed a lack of suitable property for sale in their area and may be hoping that it’s a temporary shortage.
“What they may not fully appreciate is that this is the new norm.
“It is the consequence of over 20 years of not enough homes being built to meet the burgeoning growth in household numbers, resulting in a lack of quality homes for sale in many popular areas.”
The survey released this morning was based on 115,853 asking prices of properties put on the market by agents between January 11 and February 7.
Rightmove said that some agents are reporting the lowest ever stock of quality property for sale, meaning that there is little for home movers to trade up to. Perhaps this is the right time to reduce your fees a little, Rightmove?
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I think its more a stark warning to those firms that charge low fees, relying on a high property inventory, to take a long hard look at their business strategy!
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Unfortunately, I think Onliners thrive in this sort of market. Less stock means properties will sell easier when they do come to the market. When there is an abundance of stock it then takes that extra salesmanship that traditional agents offer.
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Good news, this is the very time when the traditional skills of reading and understanding the market are most valuable. there is very little sense in saving 1% in fees to mis value a property by 7 or 8 % because the land registry figures or the ZRNG is a couple of months behind the ball.
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I agree more do sell, but here’s the thing. most of the cheap agents or on liners are just not aware of what prices are being ACHIEVED locally, they will be woefully out of touch and its easy to convince sellers they are likely to be undersold by some margin.
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Sorry Robert should have read your comment first as that was pretty much what you said!
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No worries, this is one of the big issues I have with Zoopla as the main culprit sharing your data via their RNG ( random number generator). The deal done between a vendor and a purchaser ought to be confidential between them, you and their respective solicitors. Your dead file of achieved prices is one of the indicators of how the market is moving. Without such info your competition is disadvantaged.
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Don’t forget that us ‘onliners ‘ or ‘low fee agents’ operate with lower overheads so i can confidently report that the business strategy is sound.
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