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Stock outpacing demand

Journalist: Jake Carter, Mortgage Introducer

ended 13. July 2023

Some areas of the property market are becoming oversaturated with for-sale stock, as cooling conditions see the nation’s homesellers struggle to secure a buyer in the current market, according to House Buyer Bureau.

Is this something you have seen?

How could the demand side of the industry be stimulated?

What are the specific challenges you face in the region you operate in?

What are the core trends in the region you work in?

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Rohit Kohli
Director at The Mortgage Stop
We're still seeing people who are actively buying, so we're not seeing a drop in prices of any meaningful amount as yet. We are noticing that negotiations are taking longer with much more back and forth on price but no real movements from sellers just yet.

What we are seeing is that some agents are becoming much more aggressive in some of their tactics both in acquiring new business with what I would suggest are overpriced valuations but also we're seeing more agents trying to force through conditional offers (by using their brokers) - I think this is the real indicator of issues starting to emerge in the market right now.
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Imran Hussain
Director at Harmony Financial Services
This is not something we are seeing in our local area as we still have a massive demand from first-time buyers as there is a shortage of good quality rental stock; the biggest trend currently is anything sub £300,000 still attracts plenty of interest from first time buyers and if the property is priced correctly it does not sit on the market very long.
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Jamie Alexander
Mortgage Director at Alexander Southwell Mortgages
Despite ongoing interest from prospective buyers, we haven't witnessed a substantial decrease in prices just yet.

We’re still seeing activity related to those who've come to a point in their lives where they need to move.

However, negotiations are becoming lengthier with increased back-and-forth on pricing, while sellers remain hesitant to make significant adjustments.

What we have observed is a rise in aggressive tactics among certain agents.
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Rhys Schofield
Brand Director at Peak Mortgages and Protection
We're yet to see evidence of this with properly priced stock attracting buyers and demand is still up on pre-pandemic levels overall.

From the coal face however we're hearing stories from some of the more successful estate agents locally where the more desperate agents moving into a tougher market are massively overvaluing houses by £50,000 plus just to win listings and unsurprisingly that stock is going to sit unsold in what is now more of buyers market.

We've already seen the likes of Purplebricks fail and I think it's likely we will see agents who simply stick a house on Rightmove for a minimal fee, go to the wall whilst the realistic and proactive agents that actually work to sell houses and obtain the best price for their clients grow their businesses.

I'd certainly be avoiding 'low fee' or 'zero commission agents' given that the truly 'cheapest' is the one who sells your house for the most money and leaves you with the maximum sum in your back pocket.
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Joe Stallard
Director and Advisor at House and Holiday Home Mortgages
It’s only natural to see buyer caution as rising mortgage costs are hitting home. Add to that the rising cost of living and people are more likely to reevaluate the space they already have. Better to refurbish, I suppose, than boldly go into unexplored new territory.

For us, we’re still seeing activity related to those who've come to a point in their lives where they really need to move. That seems to be the driving force now behind buyer activity, and it makes sense. With many coming to the end of their mortgage terms, we’ve also noticed an uptick in remortgage activity. So for now, unless our clients are finding they’ve got to go somewhere else for family or work or space exploration or whatever, those who have an eye on capitalising property are hunkering down.
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Gary Bush
Financial Adviser at MortgageShop.com
London and the North East of England have a shortage of For Sale boards, especially for the decent properties. Enquiry levels for new mortgage applications covering the whole of the UK are still up on 2022 to date.
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Austyn Johnson
Founder at Mortgages For Actors
Thats certainly a first! Usually, it's the other way around and has been for years. It might actually work in our favour as when buyers decide its time, there actually are houses for them and we can get the mortgage process over and done with nice and swiftly. It may also stop having to offer over the asking price to get the place you want!