There were an average of 100 new prospective buyers registering with estate agencies in October, the highest in two years, data from a trade body showed.
The Propertymark Housing Insight Report for October found this was up from an average of 96 prospective buyers in September.
There was also a lift in average viewing numbers across member estate agents, rising from 2.2 per home in September to two-and-a-half in October.
To match this increase in buyer demand, the supply of new homes rose. New sales instructions data showed there were around 13-and-a-half homes being listed for sale at each estate agency branch, a slight rise on 13 during the previous month.
Stock levels also rose to 49 properties for sale per branch, up from 45 previously. Meanwhile, market appraisals, which indicate future supply levels, went up month-on-month.
There was a slight drop in the number of sales agreed in October, falling from 11 to 12 since the previous month. Propertymark said this remained within the usual seasonal activity.
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There was a slight reduction in the share of homes achieving their asking price, with the majority going for a reduced price.
The time taken to exchange continued to get longer and averaged 17 weeks or more in October.
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, said: “As we head into the new year, the sales market is set to see a trend unlike those historically seen across the winter months, with buyers and sellers, especially across England and Northern Ireland, pushing their sales and purchases through to save potentially thousands of pounds before the changes to stamp duty thresholds take effect from April 2025.
“Affordability continues to improve for many across the country, and with that, so has activity. Prices may fluctuate to align with homemovers’ desires and budgets, and we expect to see a healthy and adaptable market in 2025.”
Rental demand falls
In the rental market, Propertymark found a decline in the average number of new prospective tenants registering with each branch. This fell from 113 in September to 93 in October.
At the same time, overall rental stock was shown to be lower than the previous two months, with estate agents reporting a fall in new instructions and stock levels.
Demand continued to outstrip supply, with an average of nine people for each available rental property. Meanwhile, the number of new tenancies agreed stayed flat.
Some 55% of estate agents said rental prices had remained static, while 17 reported a decline and 27% said rents had increased.
Although they remained within long-running averages, there was a slight decline in rental arrears.
The average void period decreased since September but was still above long-running averages.
Emerson said: “In the lettings market, some positive trends are emerging despite the continued problematic landscape of undersupply and rising demand. Agents report a healthy number of rental properties on their books that currently are not witnessing widespread rental increases. This has been a key issue due to landlords’ raised mortgages and other costs requiring them to push up rents… in many cases, so they just break even.
“We continue to raise concerns regarding the lack of support for investors, as demand from renters continues to rise against a backdrop of static stock levels.”
