The UK Property Market Just Took a Summer Dip. But Look Beneath the Headline…
The latest UK property market numbers are in for Week 33, and at first glance there is one figure that jumps out. 23.2k homes sold subject to contract last week, compared with a ten-year Week 33 average of around 25.1k.
That softness is worth watching, especially after some stronger weeks recently. However, one quieter summer week does not tell the whole story. So far this year, 809,221 homes have gone sold subject to contract, and that is still running 10.9% ahead of the same point in 2023, yet below lasts years YTD figure by 7.2%
Elsewhere, the market continues to show signs of sellers having to work harder. 13.7% of homes currently for sale have been reduced in price in the last month, while only 14.2% of homes on the market achieved a sale agreed during the month. There are now 767,307 UK homes for sale, considerably more choice than buyers had three years ago.
And that is probably the biggest message from this week. This is not a dead property market. Far from it. But with more competition between Baldock and Letchworth home sellers, price, presentation and strategy matter more than ever if you actually want to move.