Property supply up by 21% in February 2022

Last month, the number of new homes entering the market increased, with Propertymark revealing a 21% spike in the number of homes listed per member branch.

Propertymark figures and insights

The experts studied the property market figures and revealed rising housing stock levels in February 2022. They likewise reported an uplift (from 7 to 8) of sales agreed per branch against January 2022.

Moreover, the share of first-time property buyers (FTBs) reached the highest levels in 22 years. In February 2022, the proportion of FTBs sales reached 37%, up from 29% in the prior month.

House price trends

Last month, almost 40% of all properties were sold over the initial asking price. It represents a 2% monthly uplift.

In turn, 41% of property deals were agreed at the initial asking price, while just 20% of property buyers managed to secure a deal below the original price.

Property supply dynamics

On average, the number of homes listed per Propertymark member agent branch spiked to 23 in February 2022, up from 19 in the prior month. These figures represent a 21% uplift in the housing stock levels.

Moreover, agents revealed that the number of new instructions entering the market did not change. On average, they remained on the level of 9 per member branch.

Experts likewise revealed that the average number of new buyers registering per member branch fell to 67 from 100. However, the overall number of registered buyers per branch averaged 590 in February 2022, up from 552 in the prior month.

To gain a perspective on the current market settings, 23 available properties and 590 registered buyers mean that there are 26 potential buyers per one available home.

Professional explains

Nathan Emerson at Propertymark highlights a positive trend of new homes entering the market. While the number of new buyers registering is going down, agent's books are still busy. It is because those who missed an opportunity to secure a property deal previously are still waiting for new offers.

The expert also points out that the share of property deals over the asking price is three times the pre-pandemic levels. However, we might see this trend losing momentum because of the rising costs of living, interest rates, and energy bills.