Estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk analysed data from all of the major online portals to record the point at which a home is listed for sale online, before cross-referencing this with the Land Registry to see when the sale completes, revealing what is selling, where, for how much and how long it’s taking.
Prior to the stamp duty holiday, asking prices between January 2020 and June 2020 averaged £277,104, while buyers paid £248,102 on average - a -10.5% difference.
However, the heightened market activity seen as a result of the stamp duty holiday has caused this gap to close to just -7.2% since 8th July last year.
This has largely been down to buyers packing more punch with their stamp duty saving and committing to higher purchase prices. Sold prices have averaged £261,325 since the introduction of the holiday, up a notable 5.3% when compared to the previous average of £248,102.
That said, this gap could have closed even further, but savvy sellers have looked to make the most of buoyant buyer activity with a marginal increase in asking prices of 1.6% since the introduction of the holiday.
Where is the gap now the lowest?
Prior to the stamp duty holiday, sold prices in London came in -0.5% lower than the average asking price. However, since its introduction, the capital’s homebuyers are selling at an average of £493,075, 2.1% more than the average asking price of £483,047.
The North East has also seen sellers benefit the most. Prior to the launch of the holiday, the average asking price was £133,871, while sold prices came in -5.2% less at an average of £126,977. Since the holiday launched, homes are selling for an average of £135,831, 0.3% more than the average asking price of £135,363.
The South East (-3.2%), East of England (-6.2%) and West Midlands (-7.6%) are home to the lowest gaps between higher average asking prices and the average sold price paid by buyers.
Colby Short, Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, commented: “It’s inevitable that sellers will enter the market at a higher price than they’re likely to sell for and so sold prices are almost always going to come in at a lower average than asking prices.
"However, in hot market conditions, this gap tends to close as more buyers fight it out for the same property and at present, we’re seeing a pretty hot market indeed. So much so that sold prices in both London and the North East have actually crept above the average asking price since the introduction of the stamp duty holiday, while all but one other region has seen the gap close.
"With more money in their pockets and more competition when trying to secure a home, buyers are paying that little bit more. Of course, this gap would be wider, but savvy sellers are also entering the market at a higher price point in order to make the most of these buoyant market conditions.”
