Sellers warned against overpricing
Data has been released about the time it takes to secure a buyer and how this has changed over the past year. We look at what impact a positive 2024 market has had on asking prices and sold prices in the UK.
2024 has been a good year for the housing market. Monthly mortgage approvals surpassed 60,000 in February. They have increased every month since before hitting a two-year high in October with 68,303 approvals.
However, with more and more buyers returning to the market, Jukes Estate Agents Harlow are advising sellers not to get ahead of themselves. This is because the time it takes to secure a buyer has actually increased over the past year, whilst house prices have remained largely static.
Why is it taking longer to find buyers?
One key factor is the healthy level of for-sale stock in the housing market. Over the last year, for-sale stock levels in England alone increased by almost 14% to sit at a total number of 846,455 listings.
In Harlow, stock levels have increased by over 50%!
So, buyer demand is on the up. Therefore, this means an abundance of homes for sale to satisfy demand. The market will NOT become overheated as it has been in recent years. This ended with multiple buyers competing over a single property.
This surplus of stock versus buyers makes for what is often referred to as a buyer’s market in which the balance of power lies with buyers rather than sellers.
Asking prices
In such an environment, it is expected that sellers will reduce their asking price in order to attract a buyer. But the figures show that this hasn’t been the case. The average asking price over the past 12 months (£367,572) sits 0.2% higher than it was during the previous 12 months (£366,881).
What percentage of asking price is achieved
As a result, the average sold price secured has remained at 77% of the asking price. This is as buyers continue to battle against high mortgage costs despite recent reductions in the base rate.
All of these factors mean that sellers are now waiting considerably longer to secure a buyer.
Sellers times
Between October 2022 and September 2023, it took an average of 53.9 days to secure a buyer. But over the past 12 months (October 2023 – September 2024) this has increased by 10.5 days to sit at an average of 64.4 days. Data supplied by Home.co.uk (https://www.home.co.uk/).
Geoff Flewers, Jukes Estate Agents Harlow Sales Director comments: “The housing market is heading in the right direction. Given all of the economic headwinds that we have battled against over the past year, the market has shown great resilience.
“But as of now, we’re still in a situation where stock outweighs demand. As such, sellers might want to be careful not to assume that they will achieve a quick sale or a high price at this moment in time.
“So far, rising buyer demand has more or less been met by healthy stock levels. Therefore, our advice to sellers is to remain optimistic, but also be patient.
“However, sellers and their agents can take simple measures to facilitate a faster process.