Housing market ‘remains muted’ amid higher mortgages…

Only a fifth of agents reported being busier than last year as higher mortgage rates and inflation weigh on the market.

A survey of 500 UK estate agents, commissioned by GetAgent, assessed current market conditions based on buyer interest, stock levels, inquiries from new sellers and other market indicators such as asking price, declines and declining valuations.

When asked how current levels of shopper interest compare, only 22% said they were busier than this time last year, 32% said they were as busy as this time last year, and 46% said they were less busy.

However, there has been a 4% increase in the number of people who said they were busier than last year compared to January this year, GetAgent said, with a 7% increase in people who said they were just as busy. and a reduction of 11%. in those who claim to be less busy.

Additionally, 41% currently had less stock for sale compared to this time last year, down 10% from January, while 26% said they currently had more stock for sale, down 7% from January. January.

There has also been a 2% increase in the number of people saying they were seeing more new inquiries from sellers, now at 27% from 25% in January.

However, 56% said they were seeing buyers submit offers below the asking price, up 6% from 50% in January. There has also been a 6% increase in the number of agents seeing offers above the asking price, although 18% of respondents is comparatively low, up from 11% at the start of the year.

Half of those surveyed also said they were seeing more sales fall, a further 10% since the start of the year.

Research shows that under current market conditions, brokers feel it is higher mortgage rates that pose the greatest challenge, with high levels of inflation and general market uncertainty also figure prominently, while marginal rates depreciation in house prices observed in the last few months were considered the least of the biggest challenges.

When asked when they anticipate the market to pick up, 43% said they think it will happen next year, 29% think it will happen in 2023, while only 28% don’t think it will happen in the near future.

Mal McCallion, GetAgent’s COO, said: “We have yet to see house prices fall as many previously feared and while they may have cooled off in recent months, this marginal decline is not the biggest problem we are facing. facing real estate agents today.

“However, it remains a challenging outlook as they face higher levels of market volatility, as well as a lower level of activity from both buyers and sellers. The result is a realignment of asking prices and a greater propensity for sales to fall later.

“The good news is that momentum is starting to build and while most agents are not as busy as they were last year, the tide is slowly turning with more agents seeing an increase in buyer and seller activity compared to with the beginning of this year.”