Almost 3,000 homes were sold every day in the UK last year, marking a 7% increase to the average estate agent’s workload, latest research from Moverly reveals.
This annual total equates to a daily average of 2,984 sales, which is the highest UK daily transaction average since 2022 (3,447) and marks an annual increase of +6.8%. It remains, however, slightly behind the pre-pandemic norms which saw more than 3,200 daily transactions each year between 2014 – 2019.
England and Northern Ireland both saw annual upticks of +6.9% in 2024 to record an average of 2,512 and 69 daily sales respectively.
Meanwhile, an average of 272 daily sales in Scotland marks an annual increase of +6.8%, and 130 sales per day in Wales is an increase of +5.6%.
LATE SURGE
While 2024’s transaction total remained behind pre-pandemic levels, a late boost in sales towards the end of the year indicates that agents could well be in for a busy start to 2025 as buyer confidence returns.
The two busiest months of 2024 were October (3,590 sales per day) and November (3,481) while in previous years, the peak time tends to come much earlier in the year.
INCREASED WORKLOAD
Gemma Young (main picture), Moverly Chief Executive, says: “Estate agents are likely to face an increased workload this year, and perhaps even the heaviest load in many years should Labour manage to incentivise homebuying in the way they hope to with increased supply, more accessible mortgages, and a stronger national economy.
“Agents already work incredibly hard, so taking on more work is not always going to be easy, especially with things like Material Information regulations threatening to increase the administrative time required for every individual listing.
“So, to reduce this additional strain, both in terms of working hours and legal responsibility, agents should consider streamlining their Material Information responsibilities by integrating with third-party tech platforms that have been designed to assist with specific specialist processes.”
