Confidence is building in the UK’s residential property market with house prices stable, no significant discounting and average asking price in London up 3.1%, says a new analysis.
Smaller homes are the most popular and new instructions are up nearly 7% year on year while the use of online estate agent is rising, according to the fifth quarterly home mover report from TwentyCi.
It also points out that in the second quarter of 2018 interest rates remained on hold, and a strong labour market and wage growth finally picking all contributed to an increasing number of home owners entering the market.
A review of 2017 listed prices compared to the price actually achieved shows an average discount of up to 4% for properties sold for less than £1 million, suggesting there is no significant property devaluation occurring. The realised value of properties over £1 million, however, shows an average discount of 8%.
Online estate agents now represent nearly 8% of all exchanges, an increase of 13% quarter on quarter. Indeed, in the last year, online agents have established a greater footprint across England, helped by significant investment in advertising and the introduction of more local property experts.
The share of the properties they represent has also grown, increasing by more than 30% in most price bands below £1 million and the report points out that the recent merger of Emoov and Tepilo may indicate the start of consolidation of players within this space.
Smaller homes are the biggest sellers Terraced and semi-detached houses continued to make up the largest proportion of property sales, accounting for over 55% of all exchanges in the second quarter. Both housing types have grown in the last year, driving growth overall. In comparison, flats showed a significant decline in sales volume with the conjecture being that flats now dominate the rental rather than sales market in our major towns and cities.
London continues to operate its own unique property ecosystem. The average asking price was up by 3.1% in the second quarter of 2018, an increase seemingly generated by a lack of available properties.
Source: www.propertywire.com
