"Rates have come down from their peak, whilst prices have remained stable, and we have a group of larger home sellers who are seizing the opportunity to come to market"
- Tim Bannister - Rightmove
The latest data from Rightmove reveals that Chard in Somerset is the new sales hotspot, with the number of sales agreed seeing a rise of 123% when compared to this time last year.
Second on the list of new sales hotspots is Hilton, in Derby, with an 112% increase in agreed sales compared to last year, and Padgate in Warrington is third (+112%).
Rightmove data shows that across Great Britain the number of sales being agreed is currently 13% higher than at this time last year and is being driven by sales of detached houses, which have seen the biggest resurgence compared to last year.
The number of agreed sales for detached houses is currently 17% higher than at this time last year, while smaller flats lag behind at +6%.
Some of the factors which are now contributing to an increase in buyer activity for larger houses include wider availability, some pent-up demand from last year, and lower mortgage rates than at the peak in July last year.
Rightmove’s property expert Tim Bannister said: “For a long period during the pandemic and into last year, there was very little availability of larger homes. With not much choice of property to move to, this deterred some larger-home sellers from coming to market. Last year, movers had to adjust from historic low mortgage rates to much higher levels.
"Whilst some larger-home sellers may have built up more equity over time, others looking to take out a larger mortgage on a more expensive home would have been particularly impacted. Now, rates have come down from their peak, whilst prices have remained stable, and we have a group of larger home sellers who are seizing the opportunity to come to market. The increased choice is being met with more demand, resulting in higher numbers of sales.”
Ben Gee, Founder of Hat and Home in Berkshire said: “The first 10 weeks of 2024 has seen a noticeable shift in demand with 25% more applicants registering to buy compared to the same period last year. What’s particularly interesting is that registrations for properties over £700,000 have increased by 41%.
"A lot of people sat on their hands last year whilst mortgage rates were higher as the impact on borrowing and affordability simply meant they couldn’t get what they wanted in order to compel them to move. Now we are in a lower rate environment, those buyers are coming back, as their ‘need’ for making a move has probably intensified, and it’s a more cost-efficient time to do it.”
