30th April 2021

Are you still thinking about selling?

Demand for homes hits new highs.

There has been strong buyer demand from the start of 2021, leading to one of the busiest sales markets in years – with the value of homes sold subject to contract in the first 4 months of the year almost double that in 2019 and 2020.

Since March, demand jumped again, to levels like those last seen in the wake of the first lock-down last summer. The combination of children returning to school and the stamp duty holiday extension announcement in early March, as well as the return of first-time buyers and the continued ‘search for space’ among homeowners came together to create a demand boost, especially for family houses.

Demand peaked in the week following Easter, hitting levels more than double those seen during the same period in 2017-2019. After the first major easing of lockdown on April 12th in England, demand levels began to fall back as households in England started to focus on catching up with friends and family, and taking advantage of leisure activities and amenities which haven’t been available since at least the turn of the year.

Buyer demand is likely to continue to ease as more parts of the country emerge from lockdown, but given the myriad factors  boosting the appeal of moving listed above, buyer appetite will remain above average levels for this time of year through Q2 (April to June).

Supply has been constrained, especially for family houses. The number of homes being listed for sale has not kept pace with buyer demand for most of the last 12 months, eroding the total number of homes for sale in most markets, with a particular drop in the availability of family houses.

In the first half of April, the number of homes for sale was nearly 30% lower than average during the same period in 2017-2019. The lack of supply coming to the market has been exacerbated by several factors, including the rise in activity among first-time buyers who have nothing to sell. In addition, the lag typically observed between rise in demand and the subsequent rise in supply was elongated at the start of the year as potential sellers were reluctant to open their homes to viewings amid high COVID 19 cases.