"The pressure of completing sales ahead of the stamp duty holiday ending means that we have seen the number of potential buyers and the number of sales completed remain unusually high"
Despire the average number of househunters per estate agent branch falling to 451 from 525 in September, this is the highest number on record for the month of October, and an increase of almost a third (32%) from October 2019.
The average number of sales agreed per estate agent branch stood at 12 in October, a small decrease from 14 in September but the highest figure recorded for October since 2006.
Year-on-year, the number of sales per branch has increased by 50%.
The number of sales to first-time buyers rose to 21% from 19% in September. However, year-on-year this is a fall of six percentage points from October 2019.
Mark Hayward, chief executive at NAEA Propertymark, commented: “Typically, we see the property market slow down as we approach the festive period and people put their sale on hold until the New Year. However, the pressure of completing sales ahead of the stamp duty holiday ending means that we have seen the number of potential buyers and the number of sales completed remain unusually high for this time of year.
“This boom has been hugely beneficial for the housing market; however, we are increasingly concerned about the impact of the stamp duty cliff edge on 31st March 2021. This cliff edge has already increased pressure on service providers within the industry, causing delays for buyers and sellers, and could cause thousands of sales to fall through at the final hurdle as buyers realise their sale will not be completed ahead of the deadline.”
