Property markets are biased towards sellers in over half of England and Wales

There is currently a sellers market in over half of England and Wales despite the overall slowdown caused by Brexit with the hottest markets in Bristol and Manchester, according to new research.

The analysis by property forecasting firm PropCast, looked at the number of properties for sale across England and Wales and calculated the percentage of those under offer or subject to contract, portrayed as a temperature recording.

It found that 53% of postcode districts have a market heat temperature of at least 35?, indicating they are in a sellers’ market. This is when there are more buyers than properties for sale, placing the balance of power in favour of home owners.

Postcode district BS3 in Bristol recorded the hottest market heat temperature at 65?, followed by three areas in Manchester, M27 at 64?, M32 at 64? and M6 at 62, then BS6 at 62? and BS5 (61?, both in Bristol.

The top 10 sellers’ markets list also included CF38 at 61? in Pontypridd, NG6 at 59? in Nottingham, B44 at 59? in Birmingham and S8 also at 59? in Sheffield. On average, buyer demand has risen 8.4% across these areas since the Brexit referendum in June 2016, growing the most in CF38 at 38%.

Meanwhile, London continues to dominate the 10 coldest postcodes, where homes are in a buyers’ market. NW8 in Westminster and Camden along with WC2 are the coldest, all at 9?, followed by SW8, EC2 and W11 at 10?, then SW7 and SW5 at 11? and W2 and SW10 both at 12?.

The research also shows that L2 in Liverpool ranked the fourth coldest postcode across England and Wales. In total, buyer demand has fallen 15.9% on average since the start of Brexit, with EC2 seeing the highest drop of 60%.

According to Gavin Brazg, founder of PropCast, anything above 50? is considered a very hot sellers’ market. He believes that with over half of England and Wales’ postcode districts in a sellers’ this should bring hope to thousands of home owners in those locations, despite Brexit uncertainty, as buyer demand is still mostly strong.

‘The balance of power is therefore skewed in a seller’s favour under these conditions. As long as the initial asking price is set realistically from the offset, properties should sell quicker and attract multiple offers as a result. If you are trying to buy in this type of market, get ready to compete against other buyers. Be prepared to spring into action the moment a property you like hits the market, be pre-approved for a mortgage before you make an offer and make your opening offer a strong offer,’ he said.

‘Meanwhile those in a cold buyers’ market should not be downhearted because it’s still absolutely possible to sell well. Buyers are out there; they’re just more price and condition sensitive. The key to success is to identify the homes that are your direct competitors, and then position your home so it represents the best value for money,’ he added.