Sat 18 May 2019

Making Sense of the Property Market Analysis

Recent analysis by Home.co.uk of the UK-wide property market indicates that the property market is moving slowly.  In fact, according to the data, it seems that the UK property market is actually operating at the slowest recorded rate for five years.

A lot of this data is significantly impacted by the London property market trends.  In London, we see that new instructions are down 28% year on year.  Additionally, the average time on the market for property in London is 96 days.  This is the slowest rate in ten years.

How are the Figures Measured?

Time on the market is defined as the period between a property being listed and it being sold subject to contract.  

How does the Birmingham Property Market Compare?

As we reported in our Spring property market trends blog for the West Midlands, the Birmingham and Midlands property market seemed to buck the national trend.  Certainly, the second city significantly outperformed the capital!  

Whilst the UK average time on the market is 89 days, April saw the West Midlands with a healthy average of 55 days from instruction to sold subject to contract.

Andrew Oulsnam, Director, had this to say about the market variations:

“It is inevitable that we are facing extremely fluctuating reports on the state of the UK property market.  With London in particular distorting the reality of individual regions, we should not take these reports as a concrete indication of the state of the market for all buyers and sellers.  Instead, if you are looking to list your home, it is a good idea to focus on the performance in a specific area, as you might be surprised by the high performance.”

You would be forgiven for believing that the UK property market is on the verge of collapse.  In our opinion, it is vital that potential buyers and sellers look at the macro of the property market instead of a very varying bigger picture.  Of course, any home sale or purchase is an irreversible commitment and so it is sensible for you to be more cautious in the current economic climate.  However, unless you are considering scooping up a vast London property portfolio, a considered decision is likely to still pay off for the average buyer or seller – particularly in the West Midlands.