"Buyers have become increasingly confident since December, when interest rates were held at 5.25% and mortgage rates started to come down. This sentiment carried through to January and with more properties now on the market, we expect to see increasing numbers of buyers."
- Matt Thompson - Chestertons
There has been a 21% increase in the number of house hunters submitting offers for properties, spurred on by a surge in market sentiment, according to data from London estate agency Chestertons.
The agency’s latest data, comparing January to the same month last year, also shows that 17% more properties were put onto the market for sale and 7% more owners have requested market appraisals, signalling that more people are now ready to start or resume their plans to move home.
Matt Thompson, Chestertons’ Head of Sales, says: “The boost in buyer activity is exactly what many sellers have been waiting for.
"Buyers have become increasingly confident since December, when interest rates were held at 5.25% and mortgage rates started to come down. This sentiment carried through to January and with more properties now on the market, we expect to see increasing numbers of buyers, additionally driven by pent-up demand from those who did not feel comfortable moving forward with their search last year.
“We are seeing all types of buyers now entering the market, including first-time buyers, young couples joining forces to achieve a joint upgrade and people that live outside of the capital and require a pied-à-terre to avoid lengthy daily commutes.”
