Sales enquiries remain above pre-pandemic average, while lettings skyrocket

Sales enquiries remain above pre-pandemic average, while lettings skyrocket

Despite growing economic headwinds, seller and buyer enquiries are peeking their heads above the 62-week pre-Covid average, the latest data from the Yomdel Property Sentiment Tracker (YPST) shows.

At the end of last week buyer enquiries were 4.6% above the 62-week pre-Covid average, with seller enquiries at 1.97% above the average we saw before the pandemic, according to the latest data.

Richard Combellack, chief commercial officer at BriefYourMarket, parent company of Yomdel, said: “While the cost-of-living increases, the property market has subsided but remains robust, and people are still looking to move. Although we may not see as many people moving for aspirational reasons, there will always be people that need to move due to aspects such as downsizing or the need for some more space because of a growing family. These factors remain regardless of the economic influences at play within the market.”

He added that with property price increases over the past couple of years, many homeowners would have built up equity, which should help them up the ladder.

“However, that said, financial pressure could leave many people hesitant about upscaling at the moment, but rather deciding to stay put for now. There will be those who adopt a wait-and-see approach and are looking to ride out the next few months to see whether inflation will be reigned in and brought under control,” said Combellack.

He notes that while enquiries have stabilised on the sales side, the lettings market seems to be heating up once again.

At the end of last week, landlord enquiries were sitting at around 81.76% or 18.24% below the long-term average, however, tenant enquiries were up to 233.36% or 133.36% above the average.

Combellack commented: “Statistically there is a lot of movement in the lettings market during August and September as people move to be closer to certain schools for the new year. Tenant enquiries were up to 228.88% in July, the first time we have seen tenant enquiries go over 200% since August and September 2021.

Since July, the enquiry figures have been on an upward trajectory with August 2022 set to be one of the busiest months in terms of tenant enquiries on record this year. While sales enquiries are back to around the pre-pandemic average, there are still many people who are either holding off on buying a property, or who simply cannot afford to move at this stage, which is driving demand in the lettings sector.”

According to the data, weekly visitor numbers to agents’ websites are currently 10% above the average, while live chats are 8% above the pre-Covid average. Live chat leads are well above the parapet at 27% higher than the average.