How many viewings does it take to sell a property?
Despite the widely reported hot market recently that has favoured sellers, the average UK home sale still took 17 viewings to sell, with 34% of sellers being part of a chain that collapsed leaving them stressed and frustrated, according to fresh analysis of over 1,000 home sellers.
The study looked at those who had sold in the past 24 months and revealed that 81% of people were nervous about viewings due to Covid 19, with most sales taking between four and six months to complete (47%) and almost half of sellers experiencing conveyancing delays.
In terms of motivations for moving, the pandemic and associated shifting working trends has significantly impacted the market, with 64% of sellers citing working from home as being a key factor in their decision to move. Aligned to this, 48% of sellers were moving to find more space. Unsurprisingly, 84% of sellers reported being emotionally attached to their old home.
The research, conducted on behalf of home buying service Spring, also revealed that offer fall-throughs were down to 10%, compared to 47% during the previous period. While a seemingly small proportion, Spring analysts estimate this could still be up to circa 200,000 homes.
Some 79% of houses sold in the last 24 months made their asking price, with 27% making at least 10% more, reflecting a strong seller’s market, the survey found.
As always, timing is everything. A quarter of people – 25% – said timing the purchase of their next home is the most difficult part of trying to sell. This is followed by not knowing when their house would sell and complete (24%) and knowing whether the offer would fall through (23%).
Cormac Henderson, CEO of Spring, said: “The pandemic has created an extraordinary market with factors that we couldn’t have predicted before, including a significant migration owing to shifting work and lifestyle trends. Home has taken on a new meaning for many people as they reconsider their priorities.
“While sellers have generally enjoyed high levels of demand their homes, timing remains a critical challenge, exacerbated by conveyancing bottlenecks. With many people keen to move, increasingly long property chains leave vendors hanging in the balance which can be incredibly stressful. Those who have been in collapsing chain know just how demoralising it can be.”
