Cooling market clear as transactions drop -58% year on year

Cooling market clear as market activity drops -58% year on year – Here’s the worst hit areas of England and Wales

Research by Nested, the modern estate agent, has revealed that while there have been almost 77,500 homes sold across England and Wales so far this year, this is 58% fewer than the 171,000 sold during the same time period last year.

Nested analysed sold price data from the Land Registry looking at the number of homes to have sold so far this year (Jan to Mar 2023 – latest available), where across the nation the most homes have sold and how this differs to the same period last year.

The research shows that across England and Wales as a whole, 76,489 property sales have completed during the first quarter of this year. This is 104,450 fewer when compared to Q1 of last year, marking a year on year dip of 58% in market activity.

Regionally, the South East has seen the most homes sold so far in 2023 at 12,822, albeit this is again some 58% fewer versus last year. However, it’s the East Midlands and Wales that have seen the largest reductions in market activity, with a drop of 60% in homes sold during Q1 of this year versus Q1, 2022.

At local authority level, it’s Birmingham where the most homes have sold this year, with 1,070 transactions completing between January and March. Leeds (1,043), North Yorkshire (938), Cornwall (920) and Somerset (876) also make the top five.

However, regardless of total homes sold, every single area of the market across England and Wales has seen a decline in market activity when compared to the same period last year.

North West Leicestershire has seen the largest reduction. Between January and March of last year, 430 homes sold across the area. This year, just 118 transactions completed, a 73% annual drop.

Harborough (-70%), Anglesey (-70%), North Warwickshire (-69%) and Melton (-69%) also rank amongst the worst hit pockets of the property market to have seen the largest decline in homes sold.

At the other end of the table, Gloucester has seen the smallest reduction in transaction levels, although the number of homes sold has still fallen by -44% year on year.

Alice Bullard, Managing Director at Nested, the modern estate agent, commented:

“The higher cost of living, increasing interest rates, a disastrous mini budget and the resulting turbulence seen across the mortgage sector all had a significant impact on buyer demand levels during the closing stages of last year.

While 2022 may seem a long way away now, what we’re currently seeing is the knock on effect from this reduction in market activity, with the lower level of sales agreed now reaching completion.

The good news is that the industry has widely reported an uplift in activity almost immediately in 2023 and so while we’re yet to see this materialise in terms of actual homes sold, we can expect to see an uplift over the coming months as these sales finally reach the finish line.”