The housing market is seeing a shift in favour of buyers, with 86% of estate agents reporting that properties sold below their asking price in August. This is according to new figures from Propertymark, which highlight increasing caution among purchasers.
Only 9% of member agents reported properties achieving their asking price. This comes as the availability of housing stock continues to rise, providing buyers with more options and greater room for negotiation.
The average number of prospective buyers registering with Propertymark member branches decreased to 69 in August. Viewings also saw a decline, with agents recording an average of 1.7 per available property. Meanwhile, the average number of homes available for sale increased to 51 per branch.
Despite a weakening in buyer interest, agreed sales saw a slight increase to 9.5 per branch, suggesting that transactions are still progressing, though buyers are becoming more selective. Almost 32% of Propertymark members reported that most agreed sales took over 17 weeks to reach the exchange of contracts, leading to potential delays and uncertainty.
In the lettings market, tenant demand continues to outstrip supply, with an average of 121 prospective tenants registering per branch in August. However, new fully managed instructions fell, and void periods lengthened to almost four weeks.