The housing market is showing signs of recovery but many sellers are still struggling to secure a sale with rising price reductions, fall-throughs and withdrawals.
Analysis from House Buyer Bureau, based on data from TwentyCi, shows that while activity has picked up over the past year, conditions remain challenging on the ground.
New instructions rose 2.1% year-on-year, while sales agreed increased by 2.3%. The number of transactions reaching exchange climbed 12.6%, pointing to improving buyer activity following a period of higher interest rates.
However, this recovery is being driven in part by sellers lowering expectations. The number of homes seeing a price reduction increased by 10.8% annually, suggesting many vendors are being forced to adjust asking prices to attract buyers.
RISING FALL-THROUGHS
At the same time, fall-throughs rose by 4.5%, underlining the fragility of transactions, while the number of properties withdrawn from the market climbed 7.6% as some sellers opted to exit altogether.
The figures point to a market that is moving forward, but unevenly, with progress coming at the cost of pricing discipline and seller confidence.
Chris Hodgkinson (main picture, inset), Managing Director of House Buyer Bureau, says: “For all of the talk that the property market is improving, these figures show that the experience for many sellers remains incredibly difficult.
“More homes are selling and more transactions are reaching exchange, but this increase has been largely driven by the fact that sellers are being forced to lower their asking price in order to secure a buyer.
“At the same time, we’re still seeing a growing number of sales collapse, and many sellers are simply giving up and withdrawing from the market altogether because they have become exhausted by the process.”
TESTING LANDSCAPE
And he adds: “The reality is that selling a home remains a long, uncertain and often costly experience. Buyers are taking longer to commit, affordability remains stretched, and chains are still incredibly fragile.
“It remains a testing landscape for the market despite improvements to mortgage rates over the last year and recent geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the conflict in Iran has cast further doubt over the wider economic outlook. As a result, many buyers are still hesitant, lenders remain cautious, and transactions are taking longer to complete.
“As a result, we’ve seen a growing number of sellers opting for the speed and certainty provided by a quick sale platform and who can blame them.”
