With record numbers of people looking to move, Righmove’s latest research shows that sellers have the best chance of finding a buyer now than at any other time in the past ten years.
Rightmove have compared 13 million property listings and tracked the journey of a property going up for sale, to it being marked sold subject to contract, and have found that seven in ten sellers (68%) across Great Britain found a buyer between June 2020 and June 2021, which is the highest percentage recorded in a decade.
In comparison, just over half of properties up for sale successfully found a buyer between 2012 and early 2020, which highlights just how busy the market has been over the past year.
Scotland leads the way
The hottest locations for sellers are all in Scotland, where 89% of sellers have successfully found a buyer, compared to 48% in London. The two top spots are the local authority areas of Falkirk and East Dunbartonshire.
Outside of Scotland, eight in ten sellers on average have found a buyer in Sheffield, South Yorkshire; Craven, North Yorkshire; and Chorley in Lancashire.
Sellers in the high-end London markets of Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Camden are finding it the hardest to secure a buyer.
Property expert Tim Bannister said: “While the long-term average shows that typically around half of sellers find a buyer, the increase in 2021 reflects the record numbers of buyers we’re seeing in the current market due to the changing priorities of home movers.”
Property hotspots: where the most homes are selling in each region
% of homes selling June 2020 – June 2021
Falkirk (Scotland) 94%
Sheffield Yorkshire & the Humber 83%
Chorley (North West) 81%
Torfaen (Wales) 80%
Chesterfield (East Midlands) 79%
Nuneaton and Bedworth (West Midlands) 78%
Weymouth and Portland (South West) 78%
Darlington (North East) 77%
Folkestone and Hythe (South East) 75%
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk (East of England) 74%
Bexley Greater (London) 74%
*Sales that fell through and went on to secure a buyer again were only counted once
Buyers are widening their scope
Previous research has shown that Scotland is often home to areas where sellers are most likely to find a buyer, while London has the least.
Tim Bannister, said, “With sellers finding buyers faster, estate agents are operating on limited stock, and they need more homes to come to market to satisfy all types of buyers.”
