Propertymark’s latest Housing Insight Report shows a 7% drop in the number of market appraisals in March.
Additionally, there’s been a 4% rise in the number of potential buyers registering with member agencies.
The report also points to a slight increase in property viewings for March 2024, which remain similar to the figures from March of the previous year.
Moreover, there were 82 new potential renters signing up per member branch during the month.
It was also observed there was an 8% jump in the rental properties available during the month.
However, the ratio of new applicants to available properties was still high, with about nine applicants for every property in March.
Nathan Emerson, head of Propertymark, remarked on the stability of interest rates and minor positive shifts in GDP and inflation in March 2024. He expressed cautious optimism for inflation to keep falling, potentially leading to a reduction in interest rates.
He noted an uptick in demand in the housing sales sector as evidenced by more registered buyers and property viewings.
Though there was a small dip in new house listings and the number of available properties decreased slightly, the figures remain similar to the previous year’s for the same month.
Emerson also mentioned a slight fall in tenant demand and a small increase in rental property availability.
Despite that, he stressed that overall, demand still exceeds supply, with many more applicants than available properties.
He touched upon current legislative discussions, including the Renters (Reform) Bill and Housing (Scotland) Bill. Emerson stated that Propertymark is actively collaborating with its members to advocate for legislative changes to promote investment, avoid negative effects, and support a fully functional housing system.
