"In order to still find a suitable home within their budget, house hunters are adopting an even more flexible approach to their property search and are increasingly open to compromise on the location and size of the property"
- Matt Thompson - Chestertons
House hunters may have digested higher mortgage rates and are now beginning to take advantage of a slower sales market, according to Chestertons who saw a 5% month-on-month rise in property sales during August.
According to a new market analysis from Chestertons, buyers are being encouraged by the fact that there are currently more mortgage products available than at any time since February 2022, which is increasing competition amongst lenders and driving down rates.
Meanwhile, some homeowners appear to be delaying putting their property on the market and are instead choosing to let them on a long- or short-term basis. This has caused a 10% fall in the number of new properties being put up for sale in August vs. July.
Matt Thompson, head of sales at Chestertons, says: “Some sellers may be hesitant to put their property on the market at the moment, but there are still plenty of buyers out there waiting for the right property at the right price and demand continues to outstrip supply in the capital.
"As a result, sellers have been less willing to accept any further price reductions last month; particularly as many had already adjusted their initial asking price to reflect the less active sales market.”
Chestertons’ data found that there was a 24% decrease in the number of sellers willing to reduce their asking price in August.
“In order to still find a suitable home within their budget, house hunters are adopting an even more flexible approach to their property search and are increasingly open to compromise on location and size of the property,” Thompson concludes.
