More house prices are being reduced, the number of agreed sales is declining, and properties are taking longer to sell – but it’s not all bad news, according to Spectre.
In its first market report, the proptech provider says that rather than being a cause for concern, the data should be seen as a return to more normal conditions and that now is in fact the ‘ideal time to move’.
The quarter one (Q1) market report shows that new listings are down 5.55% compared to the Q1 five-year average. Prices were reduced on more than 36% of properties listed for sale and 8.65% fewer sales were agreed.
The report states: “In any other market, this should be a cause for concern and understandably, fear has been spreading. However, for the last few years, the property market has seen exceptional growth. These movements should be seen as market conditions normalising and returning to a more manageable baseline – rather than viewing them as drastic shifts compared to last year.
“The market is still healthy and for those with the right skill set, it will prove no challenge.”
The rising reductions has been partly attributed to agents feeling under pressure to overvalue houses based on overinflated expectations from last year’s boom.
New stock remains a consistent factor, with only subtle fluctuations and the first quarter of this year being in line with previous years. New listing levels for Q2 are predicted to be 2.3% down on last year.
“In actuality, this is the ideal time to move – mortgage rates have deflated since the mini-Budget and while there has been a slight rise to the base rate, it’s unlikely to shift mortgages out of the 4-5% range,” the report reads.
While the number of sales agreed is down, Spectre found that levels are starting to climb again, reaching within 1% of the five-year average in March.
