In 2024, residential property sales agreed were up by 17% compared with the same period in 2023, according to the TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report.
In 2023, the residential property market faced challenges due to economic pressures and rising interest rates, leading to a slowdown.
However, 2024 showed a resurgence in buyer interest, driven by a desire for homeownership and adjusted affordability expectations.
Time to sell increased by 10 days to 73 days, though this was 3% lower than in 2019.
Time to complete transactions remained steady at 121 days.
Residential property owners achieved 97.1% of their initial asking prices, realising an average of £395,000 from an asking price of £407,000.
Only Inner London and the North-East experienced an increase in the percentage of initial prices achieved compared to 2023; all other regions saw declines.
The market share of online agents fell to 5.2%, down 0.4%, with losses across all price bands except for properties over £1m.
The market share of self-employed agents rose to 1.8%, showing growth in all regions of the UK, except Northern Ireland.
By the end of 2024, buyers had 605,000 properties to choose from, an 8.3% increase since 2023.
Available stock increased in all price bands but was notably concentrated in properties over £1m.
Meanwhile, rental stock decreased by 16.5%, and only 53.5% of residential properties listed for sale in 2024 sold.
Colin Bradshaw, CEO at TwentyCi, said: “The sales market remains robust and buoyant despite the heavy economic weather. By contrast, the rental sector remains under stress.
“We are already seeing stock reductions of 16.5 per cent year-on-year in the lettings sector and this is before the Renters Reform Bill has even become law.
“It will be interesting to see how quickly the stated Government aims of increasing housing supply will manifest given all the known supply chain issues and workforce considerations.
Bradshaw added: “There are also significant calls for buying and selling reform which are now taking shape.
“Both factors will impact prices if the stock increases and transactions become easier, the critical questions are by how much and moreover, when?!”
