Went for a cycle this morning and counted seven new For Sale boards on a route that had maybe two all through January and February. All in the £275k to £400k bracket, mix of semis and detached. Two of them are houses I know have been lived in by the same people for decades, so these are not flippers.
This is the New Forest fringe, not exactly a hotspot. Given the Land Registry data this week showing prices basically flat and lenders putting rates back up, I am slightly puzzled by the timing. Are agents pushing people to list before Easter, or are sellers just reading the same headlines and deciding to get out while there is still some growth to capture?
Anyone else seeing a sudden wave of new stock locally? I cannot tell if this is a seasonal thing or something more meaningful. The boards are all different agents too, not one firm hoovering up instructions.
Same round here, boards popping up everywhere. Difference is the ones that went up in November are still there. Agents desperate is my read. Nobody’s actually buying, they’re just listing.
@halfpenny_doris, fair point on the stale ones from November. There are a couple on my road that have been there so long the boards are starting to lean. That said, I do think there is a difference between what happened last spring and what is happening now. Last year the stamp duty rush meant everything listed in January/February was chasing a deadline, and when that passed the market just died. This year there is no cliff edge driving it, which might mean people are listing because they actually want to move rather than because they are panicking about a tax change.
Whether anyone is buying is a different question. I noticed the Rightmove weekly tracker had time to sell creeping up again, which is not a great sign. But agreed sales nationally are apparently above last year for the first time since September, if you believe the Savills data. Round here I have no idea. The chip shop owner told me someone made an offer on the bungalow opposite last week, but I am not sure he counts as a reliable data source 
Two reductions on my street just this morning. One was only listed three weeks ago. Spring bump or spring dump? With rates going up again not down, can’t see who’s buying all these. Agents earning their fees generating paperwork, not sales.
@halfpenny_doris, you called it. Checked Rightmove over lunch and there are now four reductions within a mile of me since Monday alone. One of them was only listed on 21 February. Three weeks and already dropping the price by £15,000; that tells you everything about the confidence levels out there.
With rates now looking like they are stuck at 3.75% until at least June, and fixed deals actually going up, I suspect we are going to see a lot more of this through April. Sellers who listed in the spring rush expecting bidding wars are going to meet buyers who can no longer afford what they could in January. Something has to give and it is usually the asking price.
Still seeing plenty of boards going up on my cycle route though, so the supply side is not the problem. Demand is the question mark. My neighbour has had two viewings in three weeks and both fell through at the DIP stage. That is a new one on me.
Just had a nosy on Rightmove with my coffee. Two more reductions on my road since Thursday, one of them now below what it sold for in 2022. Agents must be having some difficult phone calls. Can’t see this improving any time soon with rates going the wrong way.
Checked again over tea. The one that dropped below 2022 price has now changed to “offers in excess of” which is never a good sign, means the agent’s given up on the guide. Saw somewhere that lenders are putting rates up again even before Wednesday’s decision. If they hold at 3.75% and rates are still climbing anyway, what’s the point? Nobody round here is going to pay 2024 prices on a 2026 mortgage. 
Rates held again, so no cavalry coming there. Checked Rightmove this morning and the “offers in excess of” one has gone to under offer already, so someone’s bitten. Can’t imagine at what price. Two new listings on the next street over, both look optimistically priced to me. Don’t think we’re getting a spring bounce round here, just agents trying to shift stuff before everyone gives up.
Had a proper look at the local listings over lunch. Three new ones within a mile since Monday, all semis, all priced above what I would call realistic based on recent sold prices. One of them is asking £385k for a three bed that sold for £355k in mid-2024, which is bold given the Land Registry numbers this month show growth basically stalling at 1.3% nationally.
I think the spring market is arriving on time but the pricing is aspirational, to put it charitably. The agents around here seem to be stuck in 2024 mode. Give it six weeks and we will see the reductions start piling up again.
Meanwhile my neighbour has had his board up since January and not a single viewing, or so he tells me over the fence. He is asking £40k more than the last comparable sale on the street. I have not had the heart to say anything
Interesting morning on the bike. Counted three Sold STC boards that have quietly gone back to For Sale since last weekend, all within about a mile and a half. One of them I know had been under offer since January. Draw your own conclusions but I suspect at least two of those are mortgage related given the chaos this month.
Meanwhile two more new listings have appeared, both bungalows, both priced at what I would generously describe as aspirational. One is a two bed dormer on the edge of Totton that wants £375k, which is roughly what the four bed detached two doors down sold for in 2024. The agent must have a very persuasive manner.
Feels like the spring market is arriving but nobody told the buyers. Or perhaps they got told and then their mortgage product vanished
Walked past one of the local open houses this afternoon on the way back from the allotment. Agent had the boards out, balloons on the gate, the whole performance. Counted two cars in the drive over about forty minutes, one of which I am fairly sure was the vendor’s. Not exactly a stampede.
My neighbour three doors down has now quietly taken his place off the market altogether. He listed at £425k in January, dropped to £399k a fortnight ago, and as of Friday the listing has gone. He told me over the fence he is going to “wait for things to settle down” which I suspect means wait for a rate cut that may not come until the autumn at the earliest. Can’t blame him really, but it does make you wonder how many of these spring listings are just going to evaporate before Easter.
PS: the three Sold STC boards I mentioned yesterday are still showing For Sale. Make of that what you will.
Same round here. Bloke on the corner had an open viewing yesterday, I could see straight through the front window from my kitchen. One couple and a man on his own, total. Sign’s still up but the light’s gone out of his eyes a bit Spring market feels more like a slow thaw than anything exciting. Lots of hope, not much action.
Saw the ONS figures this morning, 1.2% annual growth nationally but London down 3.3%. Round here it feels somewhere in between. Two new listings on my road since last week, both three beds, both priced above what the identical house four doors down sold for in November. Optimistic or deluded, take your pick.
The interesting thing is footfall. Drove past the Lymington Winkworth on my way to Lidl and the window display had four properties marked “price reduced” that I am fairly sure were not reduced last Monday. That is not exactly spring bounce territory; it is more like spring stumble. One of them has been listed since January so it is not a snap decision.
PS: the Lidl car park was rammed as usual, so at least someone is still spending money