Buyers’ Market could be on its way later this week

There’s been a 23% rise in the number of homes hitting the market across Britain over the past six months with more to come - as soon as this coming weekend.

Home Sale Pack, which compiled the analysis, says sellers have used recent weeks in particular to beat rival vendors expected to surge after Thursday’s General Election. If the supply beats demand, we’re into a buyers’ market which is ripe for investors with funds to purchase.

The research shows that there are a total of 810,353 homes currently listed for sale across Britain.Of these, 102,035 have been listed in the past two weeks alone, a 22.9% increase when compared to the number entering the market at the start of the year.

Every region of Britain has seen an increase in the number of sellers arriving to the market ahead of the upcoming General Election. Scotland has seen the largest increase, with 5,060 homes listed over the last two weeks, a 36.4% increase in new for sale stock versus January.

The South West has seen a 32.2% increase followed by Wales (29%), the South East (24%), and London (23%). The South East and London have also seen the largest increase in the actual number of new homes entering the market, recording 17,521 and 13,821 new listings over the past 14 days.

The North East has seen the smallest increase but even here 12.6% more homes have been listed for sale in the last 14 days versus the start of the year.
 
A spokesperson for Home Sale Pack comments: “Summer is traditionally a busy time of year for the UK property market and with a recent return to form following a period of muted activity, it looks to be a summer of greater stability for homebuyers and sellers.

“While the General Election isn’t expected to impact overall market health, there will be a segment of buyers sitting tight in anticipation of some form of election cost saving initiative - with Stamp Duty looking the most likely.”

Beeton says some sellers are taking action ahead of polling day to take advantage of any post-election surge in market activity.

She adds: “They are wise to do so, as any increase in market activity is likely to cause lengthy delays to the transaction timeline, most notably during the archaic conveyancing process. So getting ahead of the game now is the best way to minimise any delay to your sale.”