Despite facing a tough property market in the latter half of 2023, estate agents in England and Wales achieved 96.7% of the asking price on average for homes sold, according to the latest data from estate agent comparison site GetAgent.co.uk.
This figure represents a minimal decrease of just 0.5% from the first half of the year, a commendable performance given the higher mortgage rates and general market uncertainty that characterised the second half of 2023.
The North East region topped the chart, with properties selling for 97.5% of the asking price on average. Other regions, such as the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber, also saw high percentages of asking price achieved, with estate agents in the West Midlands reaching an average of 97%.
Wales, while achieving the lowest average, still managed to secure sales at 95.7% of the asking price, underlining the resilience across the board.
London’s property market remained stable, maintaining an average of 96.5% of the asking price without any decline from the previous six months. In contrast, the East Midlands observed the most significant drop, with a reduction of 0.9% in the average asking price achieved.
Colby Short, co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, reflects on the industry’s performance: “To see the percentage of asking price achieved remaining so high is testament to the hard work and resilience of estate agents across the country.”
He also highlights the importance of setting realistic expectations for vendors to facilitate successful sales and expresses optimism for the year ahead: “With demand metrics showing improvements hopefully we will start to see the percentage of asking price achieved increase over the next 12 months.”
The number of buyers has risen for the second consecutive month, after an extended decline, data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed.
As part of its Residential Market Survey for February, the professional body found that estate agents expected this positive market momentum to continue over the next few months.
The number of sales agreed fell very slightly throughout the month, and selling prices were slightly down.
The number of new properties for sale reached its highest level since October 2020, with the average agent having 42 properties on their books.
Landlord numbers continued to fall, while the number of tenants kept rising.
In general, estate expected rents to keep rising over the next few months.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The housing market inspired more confidence in February, as buyers slowly resurfaced, and optimism rose among estate agents.
“However, given the broader picture, there’s still a risk that February may not have been flying after all. It could just have been falling with style.
“The return of buyers is something to be celebrated. It comes after such a long period of decline that buyers were looking ready for the endangered list.
“They’re not flocking back in vast numbers: they’re approaching more tentatively to dip their toes in.”
She added: “And while this isn’t to be sniffed at, it needs to be seen in the context of a slight fall in agreed sales, and lower prices than the same time a year earlier.
“There have also been more properties put up for sale. On the one hand, a well-stocked estate agent is one of the cornerstones of a healthy market.
“However, on the other, sellers could find it acts as a drag on prices.
“There’s also less positive news from the mortgage market in recent weeks.
“Many of those agreeing sales at the moment will have agreed their mortgages back when rates were slightly lower.
“Since then, the market has reassessed the chances of an imminent rate cut, and put mortgage rates up.
“The average 2-year rate dropped from 5.93% on the 2 January to 5.56% at the end of the month, according to Moneyfacts.
“However, by the end of February, the average 2-year mortgage rate was back up to 5.75%. It could stifle demand as the impact feeds into the market.”
Coles continued: “It’s important not to underestimate the power of sentiment though.
“Those who earn more than average will be feeling better off, thanks to easing inflation and tax cuts.
“Meanwhile, more positive news on economic growth could inspire more hope.
“The estate agents are definitely more positive about the future.
“It remains to be seen whether this is just in an estate agent’s nature, or whether better times really do lie ahead.”
Further reaction:
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and former RICS residential chairman:
“The findings of the latest RICS survey chime with some of the other ‘push-me-pull-you’ reports seen recently.
“One month up a bit, the next down a bit – it’s a pattern likely to be repeated over the next few months.
“In our offices, we noticed considerable hesitation among buyers and sellers as the Budget approached.
“Many were hoping for a few goodies to be thrown their way, which would have made the whole process more financially attractive.
“However, the Budget has been and gone with precious little to incentivise as the Chancellor probably hopes that growing optimism means he had no reason to further stoke demand.
“However, lingering economic worries and more property choice means the market remains sensitive with only competitively-priced properties attracting attention.”
Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance:
“With more properties coming onto the market, we are seeing some confidence creep back as sellers feel the time is right to list.
“As rates begin to stabilise and even reduce, buyers are prioritising their purchase once more. Increased stock levels are giving them more options, which in return should keep prices in check and ensure they don’t rise too steeply.
“With further indications that the economy is getting back on track, we expect a big push from the government before the election, perhaps with a reduction in stamp duty, along with falling interest rates.”
There has been a year-on-year spike in search interest for the term ‘cheap estate agent’, according to GetAgent.
GetAgent analysed data from Google Trends for a number of home seller and estate agency related search terms to reveal how seller interest has changed in the current market.
Within the estate agency category, ‘cheap fee’ searches have grown by 53% between January 2023 and January 2024.
At the same time, ‘high street estate agent’ was the only search term analysed by GetAgent to have seen a reduction, down 45% annually.
In addition, the search terms ‘best estate agent’ (+27%) and ‘local estate agent’ (+12%) saw an increase.
Colby Short, co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, said: “In a time when selling a property is particularly tough, it’s more important than ever for vendors to instruct the very best agent they can find, but more and more vendors are searching for a cheap agent.
“Whilst this approach is wrong it is understandable why many vendors are making this mistake. To the untrained eye estate agents are a commodity.
“They often look the same, say the same things and all bring a Rightmove report “proving” they are the best.”
Short added: “Yet agents are not a commodity. Some are much better than others and a good one can get you a price for your home that will far outweigh the additional fee they charge you whilst also providing great support through an extremely stressful process. I
“t is vital to our industry that we all continue to make this point and hopefully we will see “best estate agent” searches surge next year.”
The majority of estate agents are confident about the year ahead, believing the market will continue to stand firm, the latest data from GetAgent.co.uk has revealed.
In a survey of almost 600 UK estate agents, commissioned by GetAgent.co.uk, 55% of estate agents said they are confident about the market in 2024.
The continued volatility of higher mortgage rates ranked as the biggest obstacle for the year ahead, followed by wider market uncertainty and the stubbornness of inflation.
However, house price depreciation and a lack of both buyer and seller activity were far less of a concern.
As a result, 40% of agents believed that house prices will continue to stand firm in 2024, with a further 29% anticipating an increase.
When it comes to current market activity, 18% said they have seen an increase in the number of new seller enquiries so far in 2024 when compared to this time last year, while 39% stated they were as busy as this time last year.
Similarly, 15% reported an annual increase in the level of for sale stock they are holding, while 40% are as busy as last year in this respect.
15% said they have also seen a year on year increase in the number of buyers making offers so far in 2024, with 35% again stating that buyer activity is at a similar level to last year.
But while there is widespread optimism for the year ahead, it’s clear that buyers are still treading with caution as a result of higher borrowing costs.
Just 10% of agents surveyed by GetAgent said that buyers are submitting offers at above asking price in the current market and, more significantly, 63% are making offers at below asking price.
30% of estate agents also stated that they had seen an increase in properties being down valued, with 36% seeing an increase in the number of homes falling through.
Colby Short, co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, said: “It’s great to hear that the majority of agents are feeling confident about 2024.
“Our own numbers reflect the feedback from agents around increased market activity with a record breaking number of vendors referred in the first two months of the year.”
Short added: “As always, it is important for us all to see the increased stock moving through the funnel and transactions completing, however with inflation seemingly under control and the Bank of England hopefully reducing the base rate soon, all signs are pointing to a much better year for the property market.”
The average house price in the UK was £263,600 as of January 2024, according to findings from Zoopla’s latest House Price Index.
Zoopla’s research revealed that house prices fell 0.5% in the last year, compared to 1.4% in October 2023.
This puts the current average house price 1.5% below the peak of £268,000 in October 2022.
In addition, the average estate agent is currently agreeing six sales each month, compared to 5.2 a year ago.
Five regions in the south of England saw house prices fall, led by the East of England (-2.1%).
However, house prices are rising again in the remaining four regions of England, as well as in Wales (+0.3%), Scotland (+2.2%) and Northern Ireland (+4.3%).
Scotland was the only region which has remained in positive growth over the last year.
Richard Donnell, executive director, research at Zoopla, said: “Mortgage rates falling back to where they were a year ago has been instrumental in improving housing market sentiment and activity in recent weeks.
“Faster earnings growth and rising incomes are also starting to offset higher borrowing costs, albeit slowly.
“I expect mortgage rates to stay between 4% and 5% for much of 2024.
“Lenders have been taking any deals below 4% off the market most recently, due to a modestly increased cost of finance for them.
“This signals that house price rises will remain between 0% and low single-digit rises.
“My consistently-held view is that 5% mortgage rates are the tipping point to create annual house price falls, while rates over 6% for a sustained period would lead to double-digit falls.
Donnell added: “There’s clear demand from homeowners and first-time buyers looking to move or buy their first home in 2024.
“This will support higher sales volumes but I don’t expect house price growth to be any greater than it is now.
“The housing market is still adjusting to higher mortgage rates and reduced buying power, the impact of which has varied across the country.
“If you’re planning to sell your home this year, remain realistic on pricing and celebrate the fact that your home is likely to attract more buyer interest now than last year. This increases the likelihood of a successful sale.
“If you’re planning to buy a home, expect mortgage rates to remain within the 4% to 5% range.
“They could move a little lower over the year, but this hinges on the Bank Rate and if (and when) it’s cut later in the year.
“Momentum in the sales market has been building over the last five months. I believe the housing market is on track for 10% more sales in 2024 than in 2023, totalling 1.1 million, as greater supply boosts the potential for more sales.
Property market conditions have returned to pre-pandemic levels in all but two regions, according to findings from Quick Move Now.
The property firm analysed the average number of properties on the market and the percentage of properties that were sold subject to contract.
Nationally, figures had returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Regionally, all but two regions – the North West and South West – saw similar market conditions to 2019.
Danny Luke, managing director of Quick Move Now, said: “During the post-pandemic lockdown market boom, there were more properties listed with estate agents but a greater percentage were sold subject to contract.
“This meant, in reality, choice was more limited for people hoping to move.
“In February 2022, there was an average of just 10 properties for sale within a quarter-mile radius, down from an average of 16 in both February 2019 and February 2020.
“Now we’re back to an average of 16 properties for sale, and both the number of properties registered with estate agents and the percentage of properties that are sold subject to contract are at similar levels to before the pandemic.”
He added: “This is good news for both buyers and sellers. Buyers have more choice, which is important in keeping the market moving, and prices are largely remaining stable, which is needed to combat higher mortgage interest rates and the current cost of living challenges.
“Although home sellers might be concerned about a lack of property price growth, this period of price stability is necessary for the longer-term health of the property market and the economy, especially in light of the recent announcement that the UK slipped into recession at the end of last year.
“The level of price growth we saw post-pandemic was never going to be sustainable and would have been damaging to the economy if it had continued any longer.
“We’ve seen a lot of negativity around the property market over the last year and it has, at times, been very challenging for both buyers and sellers, but ultimately what we’ve been experiencing is a transition back to pre-pandemic conditions, in terms of price, volume, and sentiment.”
Luke added: “The only regions where things haven’t returned to 2019 levels are the North West and the South West.
“Whilst the percentage of properties sold subject to contract in the North West has returned to early 2020 levels, a greater number of properties are listed with estate agents.
“This means a larger number of properties are available. This is great news for potential buyers but will be putting downward pressure on property prices.
“In the South West, the average number of properties listed on the market is 27% lower than in 2019.
“The average percentage of properties sold subject to status is also 7% lower. This means there are fewer properties available in the region.
“If demand in the region is currently muted, which the lower average number of properties listed would suggest, the market will simply be operating at lower volumes.
“If, however, demand increases whilst supply remains limited, there is potential for strong price growth in the region in the coming months.”
London house prices fell by as much as £236,000 over the past year, the latest research by Benham and Reeves has revealed.
Benham and Reeves analysed Land Registry data for December 2023.
Much like the wider UK market, higher mortgage rates stifled buyer demand, causing house prices to cool from the record highs seen during the pandemic market boom.
As a result, the average London house price fell by 5.2% between January and December last year, finishing 2023 at an average of £508,037 – the largest decline of all UK regions.
This decline was at its most prominent across London’s more expensive prime boroughs, with the City of Westminster recording a 20.9% reduction in the average house price throughout 2023 – a drop of £232,015.
In Kensington and Chelsea, the average house price fell by 17.4% (-£236,346), while the City of London saw reductions of 16.6% (-£160,221) and in Hammersmith and Fulham house prices fell by 13.2% (-£101,522).
27 London boroughs saw a reduction in the average house price throughout 2023; however, six bucked the wider trend to record positive movement.
Both Hackney and Lewisham saw marginal increases of 0.7%, along with Islington at 0.8%.
Newham saw a 1.1% increase in the average house price, while in Camden they climbed by 1.6%.
However, Richmond enjoyed the largest boost to house prices, up 2% year on year.
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said: “With house prices cooling during the later stages of last year, it’s the London market that has naturally been hit the hardest given the far higher cost of homeownership, with all but a handful of boroughs experiencing a decline.
“Largely speaking, this decline has been marginal in the grand scheme of things and the vast majority of boroughs have only seen slight corrections, with house prices remaining there or thereabouts when compared to the record peaks seen during the pandemic market boom.
“However, the damage done across the prime market, in particular, has been far more pronounced, although the silver lining is, of course, that there’s never been a better time to buy at the very high-end of the London housing market.”
He added: “But rest assured that when the London market does turn, it turns quickly and with interest rates now falling, it’s only a matter of time before the sleeping giant of the UK property market awakens.
“When it does, we expect London property prices to not only rebound, but to once again lead the rest of the UK with respect to the rate of growth seen.”
Barb, the TV audience measurement body, has appointed insight consultancy BVA BDRC to carry out a study to help shape the future of CFlight.
CFlight is the UK’s first unified TV advertising metric for linear and VOD services without duplicating audiences and its methodology uses a combination of device and panel data.
It was developed by Sky Media, ITV Media and 4Sales in 2021, after the initiative was created by Sky’s Comcast sibling NBCUniversal in 2018. Barb took over governance responsibility for CFlight in January.
BVA BDRC has been tasked with carrying out the Landscape Study with 8,000 nationally representative interviews with adults aged 16-plus in UK households that will inform the CFlight model with estimates of the reach and frequency of linear and VOD.
The research will be repeated every year to “reflect the dynamic nature of what people watch in the UK” and enable Barb to accurately estimate the size and profile of audiences across TV platforms.
Jim Jarrett, head of research operations at Barb, said: “As more VOD services integrate advertising into their business models, it’s important that the Landscape Study is updated to reflect how audiences are evolving in response.
“This is the cornerstone of CFlight and will enhance our audience measurement service by giving advertisers, agencies and broadcasters deeper insights into how their campaigns are performing.”
The annual average sale price of completed home transactions using cash or mortgages in England and Wales in January 2024 fell by £13,400, or 3.6%, to £361,029, according to e.surv.
This reduction followed a 3.9% fall in the annual rate seen in a revised December figure.
On a monthly basis, house prices have risen, in this instance by some £620, or 0.2%, in January 2024, now stand at a level last seen in February 2022.
This was only the second occasion in the past 15 months in which prices increased by more than 0.1%.
In December, for the fourth month in succession, the North East saw the highest rate of price growth; the area has been in one of the top five spots for regional price growth for 10 of the last 12 months.
It is likely that it has held this position as a result of having the lowest average house price of all the 10 GOR areas in England and Wales, at £197,176, compared to second placed Wales, where the average price is £237,880.
Richard Sexton, director at e.surv, said: “House prices in England and Wales saw a slight increase this month, rising by £620 (0.2%) to reach a level last seen in February 2022.
“This marks only the second time in the past 15 months that prices have grown by more than 0.1%.
“The three areas with an overall positive change in growth rates were the North East, Greater London and the South West.
“In December, for the fourth month in succession, the North East has the highest rate of price growth of all the ten GOR areas.”
He added: “Our own experience is that market sentiment is improving. The combination of better news with regard to mortgage approvals in December and the holding of the bank base rate at 5.25% will encourage buyers.
“We, of course, have a budget in less than a month’s time and all parties are looking at how they can better support the housing market.
“Housing remained fifth in the Ipsos Mori issues index, but its score edged upwards, suggesting that it is becoming more important to voters and this may be significant when it comes to the allocation of any public investment decisions.”
The average selling price for properties across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, and the Borders decreased by 4.4% to £271,106 during November 2023 to January 2024, according to the latest ESPC House Price Report.
The market remained steady during this traditionally quieter period, recording a small but positive rise of 2.8% in property sales volumes.
Dunfermline continued to be popular with buyers, and secured the highest volumes of property sales, but levels were down 10.5% on November 2022 to January 2023.
Leith was the second most popular place to buy property, as sales volumes rose 17.8% year-on-year during this period.
However, this rise was somewhat overshadowed by the rising popularity of Corstorphine, where sales volumes rose 38.3% annually.
Two-bedroom flats in Leith were the biggest sellers, with sales volumes for this property type up 16.2% year-on-year.
This was closely followed by one-bed flats in the same location; the sales volume of this property type increased by 33.3%, hinting at an influx of new buyers in the market looking to purchase for the first time.
Outside the capital, three-bedroom houses in Dunfermline were the biggest sellers, although figures were much steadier in comparison; sales volumes for this property type rose 8.3% annually.
West Fife & Kinross and West Lothian both saw a boost in their region’s property prices.
In West Fife & Kinross, the average property selling price was £210,454 (a rise of 3.5% annually), while in West Lothian, the average price rose significantly, up 28.6% year-on-year to £239,424.
In Edinburgh, property prices declined 4.2%, taking the average to £289,363, however there has been a substantial boost to the volume of smaller, cheaper properties sold in the city, which could skew the overall figures.
The South West of the city enjoyed the biggest increase in property prices throughout the capital, with property selling prices here rising 10.7% to £316,822.
By contrast, the North West of Edinburgh saw the biggest decline, with average selling prices declining 19.8% to £247,164.
Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, said: “November-January is typically a much quieter time for the property market, however, it’s clear to see that this wasn’t the case this time.
“The market appears fairly steady overall, and all the signs point to increasing numbers of first-time buyers coming into the market, which is very welcome news after a very difficult period financially for many in their position.
“There has been a significant increase in the available options for buyers, especially those looking for smaller flats in Edinburgh hotspots, perhaps due to rising numbers of landlords deciding to exit the rental market and offload their properties in response to ongoing legislation around rental rates, leading to an influx of first-time buyer-friendly homes coming on to the market.
“The average selling price has declined overall, but as with our previous report, if we look past the headline figures, we can clearly see reasons for this that should reassure homeowners that there hasn’t been a wide-ranging decline in property values.”
He added: “Our latest report also indicates an increase in seller confidence in the market, which is again welcome news to help reinvigorate proceedings.
“There’s been a healthy increase in property listings, which is great news for buyers too.
“We can see the effects of rising numbers of properties coming on to the market – fewer closing dates and lower overbids are all examples of this – but it’s important to remember that this isn’t negative news for sellers, who can also reap the benefits in their onward property purchases.
“An increase in the volume of properties listed for offers over, rather than a fixed price, also demonstrates confidence and optimism in the market once again.
“If you’re thinking of buying or selling a property in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, or the Borders, contact your local ESPC solicitor estate agent today.”