US Housing Seeing Strongest Sellers’ Market In A Decade

A record number of prospective buyers are enquiring about properties on Rightmove. Demand in the housing market

BY Realty Plus
Published - Mar 24, 2021 4:37 AM

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A record number of prospective buyers are enquiring about properties on Rightmove. Demand in the housing market is 34% higher than the strong pre-lockdown market from a year ago. At the same time, supply is remaining low. Currently, the growing demand is outstripping the number of homes on the market. This is happening by the most substantial margin at any point over the past decade. The current market conditions is making it one of the best sellers’ market of the past 10 years. The average asking price of a property going up for sale has increased by 2.7% in the last 12 months. This has increased the national average to £321,064. Additionally, asking prices grew for the second month in-a-row. A rise of 0.8%, or £2,484, was recorded in March. Fewer properties are being put on the market. However, the number of sales agreed in the first week of March was still 12% higher than a year ago. Nearly two out of three properties currently on estate agents’ books are sold subject to contract. With such a strong number of sales agreed in recent months, there is a shortage of homes available to purchase. In February, the number of new listings dropped by 20%. However, more properties are starting to be put up for sale. Greater supply would ease the upwards pressure currently on house prices. There are early signs that more people are putting their properties on the market. This will likely pick up once the lockdown restrictions start to ease. Measures announced in the Spring Budget, which included the stamp duty holiday extension and the mortgage guarantee scheme, has boosted the housing market. Since the day of the announcement, Rightmove has seen a spike in online property searches. Record low interest rates and the new focus on what your home needs to offer after several lockdowns have led us to the greatest excess of demand over supply in the last ten years. This strong sellers’ market is good news for those who are looking to put their home on the market as the traditional Easter selling season approaches. There has been a backlog of property transactions due to the stamp duty holiday. It was welcome news for many that the stamp duty holiday was extended and given a tapering end. However, the strong buyer demand is expected to continue to cause delays. Lenders, conveyancers and surveyors have been under pressure to keep up.