The wider property market may have lost heat compared to the height of the pandemic boom, however, as usual, there are pockets of heightened activity across England with new research revealing that the number of properties being sold subject to contract has increased by 5% so far this year versus the closing stages of 2022. 

Estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, highlights where the nation’s estate agents have been hard at work selling homes, analysing current property market listings, looking at the volume of homes to have already been sold subject to contract and how this differs when compared to December of last year.

According to the research, across England, a huge 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.

This substantial boost in market activity becomes even more apparent when compared to this time last year. GetAgent’s historic data shows that the number of homes marked as sold subject to contract in March 2022 had actually fallen by -6% when compared to December 2021.

However, it’s important to note that while there has been an increase in the number of homes sold this year, the 289,347 current properties marked as sold subject to contract still sit some way below the 368,360 seen in March 2022.

Estate agents have been working the hardest 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.

West Sussex has also seen a notable increase, with 42% more homes securing a buyer in current market conditions versus December 2022.

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.

Mal McCallion, COO of GetAgent.co.uk, commented: “There must be something in the water in counties starting with a W or an S, as they dominate the top 10 in terms of the biggest uplifts in market activity so far this year.

"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.

"Of course, 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.”