Estate agents report busiest December for house hunters

The average number of house hunters registered at estate agent branches was the highest December on record, data from NAEA Propertymark has revealed.

December saw an average of 461 people registered per branch while the average supply of properties continuing to fall to an average of just 19 – a level 42% less than in December 2020.

This also makes the current levels of supply reported by Propertymark members the lowest on the orgnaisation’s records.

Despite Propertymark’s members reporting a 33% increase from December 2020, the number of sales agreed per member branch fell slightly from seven in November, to five in December 2021.

Year-on-year, this figure is less than the number of sales agreed last year which stood at eight per member branch for December 2020. However, over the past five years, Propertymark did highlight that the figure is in line with the average number of sales agreed per branch for the month of December.

Furthermore, Propertymark members also reported the number of sales made to first-time buyers fell to 14% in December, down from November’s figure of 29%.

NAEA Propertymark CEO, Nathan Emerson, commented: “Although December shows the usual festive lull compared with previous months, demand has still been incredibly high when compared against pre-pandemic data with more house hunters registered than in any other December.

“This could point to a busy January and a perfect time to sell your home if you’ve been thinking about it.”

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