22% dip in homebuyer market activity during Q1

Homebuyer market activity dips 22% in Q1, as slower market conditions remain

Homebuyer demand dipped by -5.7% during the first quarter of 2023, with the market also remaining -21.6% off the pace when compared to this time last year, the latest Homebuyer Demand Index by estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, has revealed.

GetAgent’s Homebuyer Demand Index is a quarterly look at the property market across England, revealing where the nation’s hottest spots are when it comes to homebuyer appetites based on the ratio of total for sale stock that has already been sold subject to contract or marked as under offer.

The latest index for Q1, 2022, shows that the market has largely remained in good health so far this year, with 42.6% of all homes listed across England already finding a buyer.

However, this level of market activity has fallen by -5.7% when compared to the final quarter of 2022, with buyer demand also down -21.6% when compared to the far hotter market conditions of Q1, 2022.

Just one area has seen a quarterly boost in demand, the City of London, where a return to normality has driven a 4.2% increase in buyer activity when compared to the closing stages of 2022.

Durham has seen the largest quarterly reduction in demand, down by -10.9%, with Rutland (-10.9%), Somerset (-8.8%), Suffolk (-8.8%), Northamptonshire (-8.4%), Essex (-8.4%) and the Isle of Wight (-8.4%) also amongst some of the largest quarterly reductions in buyer activity.

Not only has the market cooled on a quarterly basis, but every county of England has also seen an annual decline in buyer demand versus the far busier market seen at the start of last year.

It’s the Isle of Wight that has seen the largest annual decline at -32.7%, although Lincolnshire (-30.3%), East Riding of Yorkshire (-30.3%) and Northamptonshire (-30.2%) have also seen annual reductions of more than 30%.

However, it’s not all bad news for home sellers, as current demand remains robust across the nation and nowhere more so than in Bristol, where 61.1% of all homes currently listed for sale have already been snapped up by homebuyers in the county.

South Yorkshire is home to the second highest level of current homebuyer demand at 48.4%, closely followed by Tyne and Wear (48.3%), Wiltshire (48.3%) and Hampshire (48.2%).

Co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented:

“Given the pace that the market has been moving at since the pandemic, it was inevitable that a reduction in buyer market activity would materialise at some point. However, it’s fair to say that this reduction was brought about more abruptly than anticipated following last September’s mini budget.

The good news is that the overall health of the market remains robust and we’re still seeing around half of all homes listed being snapped up by buyers across the vast majority of counties.

However, this level of demand has dropped slightly when compared to the closing stages of last year and remains someway off the pace seen during the first quarter of 2022.

That said, with the widely predicted housing market crash failing to materialise and with buyer confidence remaining high, we expect to see homebuyer demand levels increase over the course of the year.”