Property transactions comment: "Desire to move remains strong"

21 September 2021

John Phillips, national operations direction at Just Mortgages said: “As we continue the march towards normality, property transactions are returning to a more recognisable level.

“The peaks and troughs of the past few months have been more erratic than in the past, but these should begin to level out as we move away from the stamp duty holiday. One thing that the latest data proves is that the tax savings were not the sole driving force behind the vast majority of moves.

“As the desire to move remains strong, particularly for properties with gardens, the imbalance between buyers and sellers remains. Buyers are significantly outweighing sellers, and properties are attracting multiple offers which is driving up prices.

“Despite the end to furlough in a few weeks, vacancies have exceeded 1m for the first-time, so there are jobs out there, and the number of buyers is unlikely to fall significantly.

“Confidence in the economy is growing and people are now switching jobs, so this may test lenders criteria on probationary periods, but it is unlikely to be a significant blocker for many.

“Now transactions are returning to close to normal, brokers should look at ensuring clients are protected, and focusing on remortgages as there will be plenty of mortgages maturing.”