The demand for property remained high in April as homes were found to have a 115 per cent more chance of selling than they did in any April between 2012 and 2021.

Propertymark’s housing report showed that the average percentage of stock sold in April over the past 10 years was 20 per cent, meaning one in five homes per month would sell.

In April this year the figure was 43 per cent, or two in five. This was a 115 per cent increase in sales, considering the low level of stock. Propertymark said this revealed that buyer appetite had not waned.

During April, there was a 52 per cent reduction in available property stock compared to the same month in the previous nine years.

According to its estate agent members, there was an average of 20 homes for sale per branch, down on 22 in March and 23 in February.

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The number of potential buyers was high at an average of 100 per member branch.

This heightened competition resulted in 39 per cent of agents saying the majority of properties sold above asking price.

Sales agreed maintains recovery

Even though supply is historically low, sales agreed remained at the long-term average.

There were nine sales agreed on average per member branch in April compared to the December low of five.

This was also lower than the peak of 14 sales per branch during the stamp duty holiday, however it is in line with trends seen during 2012 to 2021.

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, said: “With less properties available to buy, it wouldn’t be illogical to assume that estate agents would be witnessing less sales being agreed. However, the number of sales agreed remains steady when compared with long-term trends and agents report that sellers were 115 per cent more likely to sell their home in April.

“This is due to the desire to buy a home remaining strong, and although the heights of prices being achieved may well start to cool, this trend is unlikely to change by a great deal.”