October Market Insight – The Venmore Group

Here at the Venmore group, the North West's largest independent estate agent, we value having over 171 years of experience working in the ever-changing property industry. With buyer demand at an all-time high, property prices increasing, and falling mortgage rates, this is our take on how it will affect the current property industry.

The Venmores Group’s CEO, Mark Russell, will be providing a monthly market update to give an insight into the current property market….

Buyer Demand -

Competition among potential buyers to secure their next home is now more than double what it was this time in 2019. Across our estate agency, we are seeing how buyers who have yet to sell are being “out-muscled” by buyers who have already sold subject to contract. Buyer demand remains strong, up 20.5% compared with the 2020 average.

The figures also showed that competition among buyers intensified through the second half of 2020 and into 2021 with the time taken between a property being listed and a sale being agreed, now standing at 26 days, down from 49 days in 2019. Proof that if you are mortgage-ready, or can proceed without a mortgage, this will help you to get into a position whereby a property owner will consider your interest.

The property portal Rightmove shows that the number of new listings posted in the first two weeks of September was 14% higher compared with the figure for the last two weeks of August. Indeed, across our agency, we have seen a 10% increase in new properties arriving on the market from August to September. This suggests there are signs that the market will balance out coming into Autumn with respect to supply and demand.

Regional Property Price Growth –

At a regional level, property price growth around the UK over the past year was highest in Wales (up 9.4%), Northern Ireland (9%), and the North West of England (7.9%). In terms of city locations, Liverpool led the way with a price growth of 9.4%.

Whether moving for a lifestyle or location changes, now more than ever, we have recognised that homeowners moving for whatever reason can be presented with a stressful and confusing decision should the seller’s dream home not have presented itself yet. The key has been to obtain the right buyer for our clients to suit their circumstances and to negotiate the time necessary to find their next home. This has allowed many of our clients to feel comfortable enough to market their homes without necessarily finding their next home at the point of marketing.

Once sold, we have battled through this year attempting to help navigate our clients through what has been an incredibly protracted conveyance process against normal standards. While we, fortunately, invest heavily in extensive sales progression teams to keep lines of communication open where possible, buyers and sellers have had to display high levels of patience from 2020 to date. In many cases conveyancers have become overwhelmed with the volume of transactions and as a result service level and response times have been affected. Recently we have seen hope with average conveyance periods shortening, albeit gradually.

During all of this, mortgage rates continue to fall as lenders try to attract more customers on their books amid the post-pandemic property boom – despite the fact that the Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday in England, which incentivised so many buyers since July 2020, has expired at the end of September. There are now many lenders offering 1% rates, with some below this, however, there are some very high fees attached to varying products which mean seeking advice from a broker with access to an array of lenders is advised.

If you are looking to sell your home or buy a property with Bradshaw Farnham & Lea, one of the leading estate agents on the Wirral find your nearest branch here.