In January, the gap between sellers’ asking prices and what buyers were willing to pay continued to narrow, according to Hamptons’ research. Lower mortgage rates and a stable economic environment triggered demand from buyers who postponed their moves last year.

The average seller in England & Wales sold their home for 98.9% of the asking price last month, improving from 98.5% in December 2023 and January 2023. This marks the third consecutive month of progress in achieving closer asking prices and represents the closest sellers have come to their asking price since May 2023, just before the peak in mortgage rates.

First-time buyers and movers led the way, while those purchasing buy-to-lets and second homes remained more sensitive to prices. For this reason, property investors can be cautiously optimistic that they can find bargains in the buy-to-let market.

Discover More: If you’d like more insights on purchasing multiple properties, see our article on how to build a property portfolio.

Regionally, sellers in East England experienced the most significant annual improvement in asking-to-achieved values. Last month, the average seller in the East of England achieved 98.8% of their asking price, a 1.2% increase from January 2023. Why not learn about how property investment works with the RWinvest guidebook?

With more buyers in the market, newly listed homes are selling faster than in the previous year. In January, 9% of homes sold within a week, an increase from 6% in January 2023. However, this figure remains significantly lower than January 2021, when 19% of homes were sold in a single week, indicating that many buyers and sellers are still adapting to the market changes.

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