January market snapshot

Rightmove 

Housing market activity in the first few weeks of January often sets the tone for the whole year, though the 2021 outlook is somewhat muddied by the challenges of the pandemic and by the 31st March stamp duty holiday deadline. However, two main things stand out. Firstly, sellers who have come to the market in the period covered by this report are continuing to price very competitively, with some perhaps still hoping to find a buyer and complete before the tax-saving cut-off, though the odds are now against them. Newly marketed property asking prices are down by an average of 0.9% (-£2,887) on the month. Secondly, buyer activity has continued to exceed the same period a year ago, even though 2020 also had a very active start, being buoyed by the post-election ‘Boris bounce’.

That ‘Boris bounce’ came to an abrupt end with the first lockdown in March and the temporary closure of the housing market but was followed by a far stronger resurgence as people reassessed their housing needs and priorities following their experience of lockdown. With another long lockdown upon us, there are early signs that we are surpassing 2020’s new-year surge in activity, with the number of prospective buyers contacting agents between 2nd and 12th January up by 12% and sales agreed numbers up by 9% on the comparable period last year. Visits to Rightmove have continued to increase since the start of January, and are up by 33% on the same period in 2020.

We'll publish Bristol statistics when available, in the meantime, if you would like to know about your local property market contact your nearest Ocean office. Our teams will be happy to provide advice, comparable sales evidence and research anything you may need to make decisions on your home move.

Fri 29 Jan 2021