The property portal’s latest sentiment study found that almost three-quarters of buyers are confident they will purchase a property within the next three months, virtually unmoved from the 75 per cent recorded in August.
Confidence among sellers was less firm though, with inly 61 per cent believing they will sell within the next quarter, the same as a month before.
The study found a slight drop in the number of properties sold subject to contract. Around 37 per cent were sold within this time frame in September, slightly down from the 38 per cent recorded the month before.
Notably, this is starkly down from the 53 per cent of properties which sold at such a rapid pace a year ago, though OnTheMarket argued that this performance was still “noteworthy” given the economic challenges.
Mortgage positivity
OnTheMarket pointed to the state of the mortgage market as a positive indicator for the health of the property market, noting that fixes below five per cent are not only available, more are expected to be launched in the next three months.
The analysis found that just six per cent of movers were concerned about securing a mortgage to fund the purchase of their next property, the same figure as last month.
Wales had the highest number of respondents who had already sorted an agreement in principle before starting their property search at 22 per cent, while the South West was bottom with 15 per cent.
Jason Tebb, chief executive officer at OnTheMarket, said that all eyes will be on inflation figures before the next meeting of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) and the next base rate decision.
He continued: “Despite continued economic uncertainty, serious property seekers are proceeding regardless. The current market is not all about plummeting prices and transactions – far from it. Motivated buyers are still seeking properties, and so serious sellers who want to attract them must price sensitively, taking advice from an experienced local agent.”
