The latest figures to be published concerning the housing market in the UK show some real signs of improvement during the latter stages of 2023, including rises in both property sales and demand.
These figures come from Zoopla and they show that the closing weeks of last year saw house sales numbers hit above average levels. There was a rise of 17% in the number of property sales during that period in comparison to the final few weeks of 2022.
That is not the only positive indicator from the new figures; they also reveal that the level of demand among buyers rose by 19% compared with the same weeks last year. That represents an increase of close to one fifth, with the figure for 2022 having been affected by rises in mortgage rates that put many people off buying.
Another factor helping to drive the increase in demand is a rise in the number of homes on the market to buy. This is helping to boost sales numbers by making it easier for sellers and buyers to come to agreements about prices.
According to the Zoopla data, one third of the completed property sales for last year were cash purchases. There was a drop of 30% in the number of sales completed using mortgages, but this was down to rises in rates, which are now coming down again.
Advisors with CeMAP training will be confident that mortgage purchases will rise again this year now rates are falling.
