Advance Bookings viewings up 182%
Mon 11 May 2020
"An industry group of leading property software businesses, formed by Coadjute, suggests that the UK housing market is likely poised for recovery, with advance bookings for viewings on house sales surging 182% in the last 4 weeks.
The analysis comes from Coadjute’s new Property Market Insights report, compiled with firms including Dezrez, Legal Marketing Services, MRI Software, Reapit, Redbrick Solutions and Search Acumen, and covering over 50% of UK estate agents and a material number of conveyancing firms.
The report is intended to provide breadth and detail on every aspect of estate agent and conveyancer workflow, from initial sales enquiries through to viewings, exchange and completion.
The report confirms that during the period between 2nd March and 5th of April, there was a reduction at the front of the housing sales pipeline, with a 62% drop in enquiries and 83% drop in buyer registrations.
In contrast, the back of the property sales pipeline continued to be strong, with the unusual situation of more transactions moving into exchange and completion than entering at the offer stage.
Now there are signs that the market is already picking up again.
Between 6th April and 3rd May estate agents’ registrations and enquires were up by 45% and 61% respectively, increasing by 18% and 32% in the last week alone.
Significantly, advanced bookings for property viewings saw an increase of 182%, and property offers an increase of 58%.
Coadjute believes that the early return of activity even whilst lockdown continues may suggest that there is significant latent demand for property transactions, with customers anticipating the end of the current restrictions.
That said, it should be noted that these increases are in the context of the unprecedent reduction in activity due to lockdown.
Coadjute’s analysis shows that the number of applicants registered with estate agents and those in the offer stage are still 77% and 87% down compared to activity at the start of March.
Dan Salmons, CEO at Coadjute said, “We are proud to be working with our business partners during the Covid-19 crisis to collect and analyse on the ground activity and trends for the industry and very much hope the data is helpful in aligning their operations for when lockdown finally ends”.
Coadjute is a blockchain property technology business seeking to cut the cost and increase the speed of property transactions by connecting the businesses that power property market operations.
Over the last 18 months they have conducted trials with over 40 leading businesses in the property industry, and are due to launch the network in the UK later in 2020."