Looking at the percentage of properties for sale that are under offer or subject to contract in June 2022, PropCast has measured buyer demand by Region, County and City and then compared the results with the previous quarter to ascertain where demand has risen or fallen.
PropCast has found that 38% of Regions saw a fall in demand, with the South West leading the way as its market heat temperature drops from 71°to 68° - a fall of -4%. This is followed by the East Midlands and the North West at -2%. Meanwhile, 25% saw a rise, with London leading the way at +8%, followed by the North East at +2%. East of England, South East and Yorkshire & The Humber remained stable. However, with all market heat temperatures being over 34°, these locations are in a hot sellers’ market which means it is easier to sell here.
On a county level, 70% saw buyer demand fall over the last quarter. The biggest drop was Worcestershire at -38%, with the remaining top ten mostly comprising of the west country and Wales. However, with market heat temperatures all being over 34°, these locations are in a hot sellers’ market which means it is easier to sell here.
The Top 10 falls in buyer demand by county are Worcestershire, Dyfed, Grynedd, Powys, Herefordshire, Cornwall, Isle of Wight, Gwent, Somerset, and Devon.
Meanwhile, just seven counties saw buyer demand rise over the last quarter. The remainder saw no change. The counties which saw an increase are Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Tyne & Wear, Durham, Berkshire, West Glamorgan, and Rutland.
In terms of cities, 56% saw buyer demand fall over the last quarter. Winchester experienced the largest drop at -12.6% from 65° to 57°. Again, all locations are still in a hot sellers’ market, however, indicating it is still easier to sell in these locations. The top ten cities which saw a decrease are Winchester, St Asaph (Llanelwy), Inverness, Hereford, Salford, Ripon, Bangor, Norwich, Truro, and Edinburgh.
Meanwhile, 40% of cities saw buyer demand rise with Wells at the top of the leader board, whilst 4% remained stable.
Gavin Brazg, Founder of PropCast and TheAdvisory, said: “We end Q2 2022 reporting that despite most of the UK being in a hot sellers’ market still, buyer demand is starting to show signs of cooling down. I suspect this is due to a combination of rising energy bills, interest rates and the general cost of living, alongside growing concerns about the economic outlook.
"A rather interesting find is that London as a Region has seen buyer demand rise 8% over the last quarter, which could be a result of international purchasers investing their money once again now that travel restrictions have been removed, as well as people returning to city life having fled to the countryside during the pandemic. Furthermore, for the first time ever since PropCast was founded in 2018, London appears in its Top 10 Hottest Postcode Districts, twice.”
