Rightmove’s analysis of more than 225,000 homes sold between July 8th and August 31st revealed a surge in deals being agreed within a week. The number of homes being 'sold, subject to contract' in a week or less was 33,620 – 125% higher on the same period last year and 28% higher than the previous high recorded in February 2016. It was, in fact, the highest since Rightmove started collecting the data a decade ago!
Miles Shipside of Rightmove explained that “not every home sells, but those that are well presented by agents, are on at the right price, or are just lucky enough to be in demand are among a record number of homes selling within the first week of coming to market since we started tracking this data 10 years ago.”
Shipside said that sellers of three-bedroom detached homes were in the 'sweet spot' and that bigger 'top of the ladder' houses were also proving popular, although this could be because families who were usually away on holiday had brought their search forward. “Sellers do need to move more quickly than before because although we’re in uncharted territory with record activity it’s still likely that demand will start to soften as it always does towards the end of the year”, Shipside added.
One in five 3-bed semis took less than a week to go under offer
Sellers of three-bedroom semi-detached homes had the best chance of selling quickly according to Rightmove, echoing what we're seeing here at Durbins; buyers are looking for more space after lockdown.