Sales
The average number of new prospective buyers registered per member branch rose from 70 in January to 94 in February. The continued rise in demand since December is a regular seasonal trend and suggests buyers have not been put off looking for a new home by rising interest rates.
There has been a lot of doomy whispers about the housing market since last Autumn, but the activity being seen by Propertymark agents paints a robust picture. Transaction levels year on year have been stable and listings of new properties coming to the market have also been steady.
Any indicators of something negative on the horizon would see these figures dropping below previous years. Prices have been affected by rising interest rates, but sellers are still keen to keep moving, and whilst interest rates are expected to rise again, they are not expected to climb excessively higher before reaching a level footing.
The lettings market remains very much out of balance however, with an average of ten registered applicants per property. As demand continues to outweigh supply, pressure on rents has eased slightly since the peaks of last summer but it has by no means gone away.
Lettings
A steady stream of new prospective tenants
The number of new prospective tenants registering per member branch held at 91 in February. This figure is very close to last spring’s average of 94. The number of properties available to rent per member branch remained steady at 9 in February.
