Despite prevailing economic hurdles, the UK property market has demonstrated its resilience, quickly recovering from the usual dip seen during the August Bank Holiday. As of now, the UK Property Market Year-To-Date (YTD) is functioning at 90.5% of the 2017/8/9 average in terms of net sales, a figure any estate agent would have gladly accepted at the beginning of the year.
This comprehensive insight was brought to light by the YouTube UK Property Market Stats Show, which featured Ben Madden as its special guest for the week.
Here’s a breakdown of the latest statistics from the past week in the UK property market, spanning from Monday, September 4th to Sunday, September 10th, 2023:
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New Property Listings: The number of listings experienced a robust rebound, moving from 26,778 last week to 34,006. The robust 2023 YTD weekly average is currently at 32,651.
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Average Listing Price: Notably, there was a significant uptick for the second consecutive week, reaching £472,907. Over the summer, there was a gradual decline, moving from mid £450k to early £400k. As pointed out in the show, it remains uncertain whether this is a short-lived fluctuation or a trend stemming from pricier houses entering the market. The running weekly average for 2023 sits at £431,311.
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Price Reductions: Last week saw a substantial 24,315 price reductions, leaping from the previous week’s 17,740. This could be attributed to many estate agents taking their holidays the preceding week. The 2023 weekly average remains at 19,702.
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Average Asking Price for Reduced Properties: This week, the average asking price for properties with reduced prices surged by nearly £15k, reaching £429,004. For 2023, the running weekly average stands at £402,325.
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Number of Properties Sold: An impressive 18.6% increase was observed from the previous week’s figures, reaching a total of 20,271 gross sales in the UK. This is in comparison to the 2023 weekly average of 21,874 sales (subject to contract) per week.
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Average Asking Price of Properties Sold STC: For the past week, the average asking price for properties that were sold stood at £357,270, with the 2023 running weekly average being £358,069.
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Sale Fall Through Rate: A slight uptick was noted last week, with a rate of 29.69%. The 2023 average so far is 25.43%, but it’s worth noting that in Q4 of 2022, the rate was over 38%. The 7-year long-term average remains at 24.3%.
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Net Sales: Net sales rose by 17.35% from the previous week, reaching 14,252. However, it’s crucial to remember the 14.6% drop observed the week before due to the Bank Holiday. The 2023 weekly average currently sits at 16,455.
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Net Sales Year-to-Date: Despite numerous challenges faced this year, the YTD net sales of 592k reflect the market’s resilience. Remarkably, the market is only lagging by 9.5% compared to the 2017/8/9 average YTD for net sales.
In conclusion, while national figures provide a broad overview, regional data reveals anomalies. Several towns and cities across the UK are not mirroring either the national or regional trends. In certain cases, adjacent towns are exhibiting contrasting scenarios: one booming and favouring sellers, while the other is stagnant, tilting towards buyers.