THE number of homes sold in Berkshire is up significantly since before Christmas, but is also considerably down on this time last year.
Estate agent comparison site GetAgent.co.uk surveyed the number of properties being sold subject to contract. In the royal county, it is up 11% on the closing stages of 2022 – while the national average is a rise of 5%.
The research shows that across England, there are 289,347 properties are currently sold subject to contract having accepted an offer, this is 13,967 more homes sold when compared to December, a boost of 5.1% in market activity.
In Berkshire, it is 5,509 homes in this status, compared to 4,943 in December.
But, there were 6,511 homes sold subject to status in Berkshire this time last year, and 6,670 in December 2021.
The biggest increases across the country are in Wiltshire, where there has been a 44% increase in the number of homes sold subject to contract when compared to the end of last year, and West Sussex at 42%.
In contrast, Bedfordshire (-15%), London (-14%) and the Isle of Wight (-12%) have seen the largest reductions in the number of homes selling today versus the closing stages of 2022.
COO of GetAgent.co.uk, Mal McCallion, said: “While the market has been cooling in recent months, agents up and down the nation have been reporting a strong start to 2023, and it certainly seems as though this initial interest from buyers is now starting to convert, with a higher number of homes being marked as sold subject to contract.
“While the nation’s estate agents have been working hard to achieve this, the job certainly isn’t finished, and the focus now is to ensure that these sales make it over the line in what has become a slightly more challenging landscape.
“However, a surge in market activity when compared to the latter stages of 2022 bodes well for the year ahead and should bring reassurance to agents that it’s business as usual.”
