What is a Buyers Market?
A buyers market can typically be summed up by a market where there are more
sellers than there are buyers – so, in the case of property, without wishing to
patronise, more people trying to sell their property than there are buyers trying to buy
them – or, as is sometimes the case, more sellers than there are buyers able to buy
them, due to a lack of borrowing ability, as was the case in the 2008/2009 ‘Credit
Crunch’: buyers wanted to buy in 2008 – they just couldn’t!
When sellers outnumber buyers and economic pressures like inflation and high
mortgage rates take hold, transaction numbers drop. This intensifies seller
competition, often strengthening buyers’ negotiating power which can lead to
reduced property prices.
The current reality of the 2025 property market
When it comes to the property market in early 2025 at a national level, indicators are
that we are indeed seeing higher than average numbers of properties on the market.
Some in this industry are fans of Boxing Day as a weather-gauge for market activity.
December in general can otherwise be a muted sort of a month, but Boxing Day has
become a date in the calendar for kickstarting the market. At Petermans, we don’t
subscribe to the idea of holding properties back for a ‘Boxing Day Launch’ – although
for those who want to keep the festive period clear, we create a launch day on
January 6 th , to catch a market that is fully awake and eager. It delivers great results,
and we are already in receipt of several offers from this year’s campaign.
Nevertheless, given that many agents do subscribe to a Boxing Day launch-event, it
is therefore notable that Rightmove has reported seeing the busiest ever Boxing Day
for new seller activity, with record numbers of new listings coming to the market on
that single day.
Rightmove’s Tim Bannister, quoted in The Guardian newspaper last week, has also
claimed that the number of properties listed per agent is ‘at a decade-high for the
time of year’ as we enter 2025.
As mentioned earlier in the piece, Mr Bannister is also an adherent to the notion that
2025 will be a buyers market, however he has also made the claim in the same
article that total buyer demand on Boxing Day, measured by inquiries made to Estate
Agents about properties for sale, was 20% higher this Boxing Day than on Boxing
Day 2023.
Seller activity is up, but importantly, buyer activity has also increased.
Perhaps it will be a buyers market in 2025, but as we stand at the tail end of January
2025, we wouldn’t say that Bannister’s observations about buyer inquiry levels would
point to that being the current reality.
But we don’t need to read between any lines that Mr Bannister or The Guardian or
indeed any other publication gives us, because instead we can analyse data – and
data provided by property data specialists TwentyEA tells us that, as of last week,
new listings were indeed around 20% up compared to the same time last year; sales
agreed on the other hand, and importantly ‘Net Sales’ (after fall throughs), were
around 50% higher – in fact, Net Sales were better than sales agreed, as fall
throughs have been lower.
A Buyers Market? We would say, ‘not yet’. Not nationally, at any rate…
The January 2025 Market in Edgware
Another question then, is whether the property market in Edgware is showing any
early signs of becoming a buyers market?
Here are some interesting Edgware property market trends right now:
There are currently around 450 properties for sale in Edgware
89 properties have come to market within the past 14 days alone
Nearly 200 properties are currently SOLD STC
So: of approximately 650 properties selling in Edgware, around 200 have agreed
sales – around a third of people attempting to sell their home in Edgware at the
moment are on course to do so.
Of those that are currently for sale, 20% just came on within the past two weeks.
None of these figures of course include any sales which have already exchanged
contracts and dropped off property portals this month.
These are really strong and positive numbers, and whilst the data is not yet available
for property sales in Edgware during the month of January, it is almost certain to be
running ahead of where we were this time last year – only 34 recorded sales in the
HA8 postcode in January last year, compared to 48 in January 2023. Last January of
course, we did not have the carrot being dangled (or stick being waved) which is
stamp duty increasing from April 1 st – a factor which is focusing the minds of many
active househunters right now and a reason that we expect January sales agreed
numbers to be particularly strong – again, good news currently for sellers.
Sale prices remain stable, showing modest growth rather than rapid increases. Data
from Rightmove shows that average prices currently sit at around £580,000, around
a 4% increase on where prices stood this time last year.
These factors together – strong market activity, not limited solely to high listings
numbers but also significant buyer activity, from new buyer registrations to sales
being agreed, and no evidence of prices currently falling (indeed, evidence to the
contrary) – points at the moment to it being, if not a sellers market exactly, neither is
it a buyers market.
It seems obvious that a local agent might say this, but really the evidence is that at
present it is a stable but definitely active market – and anecdotally, we would say this
is also our own take on things – especially with the results we have had since our
January 6 th ‘New Year’ launches.
Is there a buyers market to come in Edgware (and should you fear
it)?
A Buyers Market this way comes?
Well, perhaps.
At the moment, as described, the signs are not yet there, but we do know there is
that cliff edge coming on March 31 st , when stamp duty becomes more expensive –
and especially for first time buyers. This may be in part the reason that buyer
inquiries are up, as buyers rush to secure a sale that might yet just proceed before
that date.
Newsflash: if you have not found one to buy already, chances are that any sale you
might now agree, even if it were next week, will take longer to go through than the
time you have left before March 31 st . We would not want to put anybody off
purchasing – but we would want buyers now, and especially heading into February,
to be prepared for that high probability.
For sellers, it is currently a positive time to be on the market, whilst inquiries are
high.
If we do see a buyers market come to Edgware, it can still be a positive time to be on
the market – but it might benefit to adapt the approach. Should there be a drop in
prices – and it is not always the case that there will be, even in a buyers market –
sellers who are also buying on in the same market will naturally see a reflective drop
in the price of the property they are buying.
Speculative pricing tends to stop – so sellers will be more likely to price to sell. Now,
that does not mean pricing lower than market value – it means pricing for the market
value, rather than overegging the pudding to speculate.
This leads to quicker transactions at closer to the list price.
There is also the potential to think creatively about marketing and about deals –
incentives to pay closing costs; including appliances and other fixtures; flexibility on
move dates; being open to covering some repairs as part of the deal… agreeing to
service the boiler for a couple of hundred pounds in order to save a £580,000 sale
from going south – one would imagine that this has surely got to be worth it in any
market, but you’d be surprised how often sellers baulk at the idea, even in a so
called ‘sellers market’.
Edgware’s property market benefits from strong fundamentals: good schools, reliable
services, and generally speaking good and well looked-after properties – all in all,
good reasons for buyers to continue buying here. That is the difference between the
property market in Edgware and the property market in many other places – and why
even in a buyers market, we may not truly notice the difference.
By staying prepared, flexible, and informed, both buyers and sellers can navigate
any market conditions with confidence.
Whether you’re buying or selling in Edgware, staying informed and adapting to
market trends will put you in the best position for success. If you’re looking for expert
guidance, now is the perfect time to connect with your local specialists.