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If you currently have your property on the market, you may be wondering where all the buyers are. Matters will be compounded if you need to sell your house quickly, as the days of purchasers making offers as soon as a property hits Rightmove are long behind us.

How has Open Property Group come to the above opinion? We are drawing on three data sets for an informed overview of the sales market. Firstly, our own team is helping frustrated sellers on a daily basis, making cash offers and rescuing broken chains.

The stories are very similar – sellers have been left languishing on the market with no viewings or offers, with many unable to wait any longer for progress. Other sellers have found sales have been aborted elsewhere in their chain, leaving them high and dry when it comes to their onward purchase.

Secondly, Landmark Information Group – a property company that uses 700+ datasets (the biggest resource for land and property in the UK) to form accurate opinions – has performed some telling analysis.

In July 2024, it published a report saying ‘sold subject to contract’ (SSTC) levels in the second quarter of 2024 were down 32% compared to the same point in 2019. Additionally, completion rates remain around 40% below what the market would expect in normal conditions. This indicates a greater number of sellers are stuck at the viewings, offers and exchange milestones.

So where does the issue lie? Although ongoing affordability issues are still pegging the market back, creating a persistent air of hesitancy among movers, our third point of reference highlights another possible problem.

Although the data reflects activity in 2023, it has only recently been released. Figures provided by TwentyCI and compiled by property figure Chris Watkins showed estate agents were only selling around 50% of the properties for sale on their books.

Those that are withdrawn may go on to be listed with another agent but that presents sellers with the administrative hassle of relisting their home with another business and entering into a new contract.

The data goes on to illustrate how headlines shouldn’t be taken at face value. For example, the statistics reveal that agents agreed sales on just under 7 out of 10 properties they listed. When you look at the granular detail, however, 25% of these sales agreed are likely to actually fall through after the offer stage.

Of course, there are a number of reasons why a sale may fall through and we have covered the 6 things that may stop your home selling in 2024 in this blog but statistics like the above make us question the skill, authenticity and motivations of High Street agents.

We don’t think August’s interest rate cut is quite the magic bullet the market needs. It will definitely help and mortgage rates have already been adjusted but all eyes will be on the new Chancellor when she deliver her first Budget in the autumn. Many home movers will be pinning their hopes on further rate cuts and a favourable adjustment to taxation – especially stamp duty – but these are not guaranteed.

Many financial commentators say we could be in for the opposite of cuts, with tax rises a real possibility to fund an increase in public spending. As such, Open Property Group wouldn’t be surprised if the number of days it takes to sell and complete extends from its current position.

As we have detailed previously, the UK has the slowest housing market in the world, with it taking an average 183 days or (6 months) for a transaction to move from offer to completion, if selling via an estate agent.

We buy any property so if you want to sell your house quickly after no luck on the open market, contact Open Property Group. As cash buyers for houses, flats, HMOs and tenanted buy-to-lets, we make offers directly to sellers with super-quick transactional times. Our average time to completion is 42 days but this can be tailor to suit the seller.

Our team is waiting to help anyone stuck on the market or looking for a fast cash property sale.

Published on 5th August 2024

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