THE HIGHEST demand in the property market is for chain-free homes, with sales increasing year-on-year across the south east.
Property purchasing specialist, HBB Solutions, says that while the UK’s property market is booming, kick-started by the Covid-19 pandemic, buyers are clearly happy to pay a significant premium for a fast, efficient purchase.
It says that chain-free purchases take 60% less time to complete than one with a chain involved. This, it adds, can lead to a 43% increase in sales value.
UK chain-free property transactions were £28.8 billion in the past year, £8.7 billion, or 43%, higher than the previous year.
This increase has been created by the sheer volume of chain-free transactions increasing by 29% in the past year.
And in the South East, the value increase is 55% and transaction count is up 37%, according to HBB Solutions.
The firm’s managing director, Chris Hodgkinson, said: “It’s clear that buyers are all too aware of how competitive today’s housing market is. Such heightened market activity alongside stagnant supply is not only driving house price growth, but it’s overloading the market and we’ve seen the time it’s taking to sell increase considerably during the pandemic, with the level of sales falling through also on the up.
“Chain-free homes provide an opportunity to avoid this lengthy transaction timeline and while they’ve always been popular, buyers are currently grabbing the chance of a chain-free purchase with both hands.”
He continued: “This high demand coupled with the promise of a smoother, quicker transaction means that chain-free homes command a significantly higher asking price.
“As a result, we’ve seen both an increase in chain-free transactions, and a hike in the price paid for these properties, contribute to a significant increase in the total value of chain-free homes sold across the market.”
