Property Agents Are Seeing Stabilisation In The UK Housing Market This Summer

The UK housing market has been on heightened activity since the Covid-19 pandemic. And while it shows no sign of a slowdown it seems to be returning to more stable levels throughout the summer.

Propertymark released a June report demonstrating that the summer market showed signs of cooling. It stated that more homes are selling for the asking price while new buyer numbers and viewings have levelled off. 

However, the number of people who want to buy property in the UK is still high, and the number of sales agreed remains strong.

Propertymark’s Housing Report Key Findings 

Propertymark's June analysis shows that viewings per property have decreased by 29% since April; a drop from an average of 6.2 to 4.4.

The number of new buyers in June seems to have mirrored that of winter with more activity peaking in spring. In a traditional market, this activity is what estate agents would come to expect.

Also included in the analysis are nine sales that were agreed in June, which has remained unchanged in the past three months. This means that the demand for homes remains extremely strong. This figure is very similar to the pre-pandemic years particularly those between 2010 and 2019.

Propertymark’s report also shows that in June, the sales agreed as a percentage of the stock remained high at 33% versus those of the pre-pandemic years 2010 to 2019, with an average of 17% of stock sold in June.

Meanwhile, their  data shows that more property buyers are securing homes with prices below asks as 27% of branches have reported this trend compared to only 15% reporting such last March.

Relentless Housing Market Shows Signs Of Cooling

The average time to exchange from offer accepted to exchanging contracts is getting longer as the report highlighted. In May 2022 , 72% of member branches revealed that it takes 13 weeks or more, versus the March figure of 54%.

This is the highest it has been in a year and much higher than one might expect based on an average property sale.

Propertymark’s Chief Executive Offer, Nathan Emerson, said that property agents had seen a relentless market for the past two years, defying patterns that they have been accustomed to.

Emerson also mentioned that this summer, in particular, returns the housing market to its seasonal trends. The market is beginning to recover with changes in the number of homes available to buy.

Emerson added that July has seen a 12% increase in the number of agents reporting that most of their sales were agreed below the asking price compared to March 2022.

Home Prices Continue Their Upward Trajectory

A recent house price index from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that prices have risen by 12.8% versus last year. An average property is now worth £283,000, up by £32,000 from a year ago.

Meanwhile, the area with the highest annual house price growth is in the South West England, with an average of 16.9% in the year to May 2022. It is also 14.7% higher than April 2022.

Moreover, the region with the lowest annual house price growth is London. It only has an 8.2% increase during the same timeframe, which is a 6.9% increase as recorded in April 2022.

Although house prices are still rising, the UK housing market is seeing a stabilisation this summer. This could be good or bad news for property investors, depending on their property investment strategies.