Welcome to the latest edition of the TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report, providing a comprehensive review of the UK residential property market created from the most robust property change sources available.

The key headlines for 2022:

• Sales agreed are down on the year but still higher than 2019: as anticipated in our previous report, 2022 saw 1.2 million transactions in residential, a fall of 14.3% compared to 2021, but in line with 2019 which is widely considered to be the last normal market. Meanwhile, the average property asking price in the UK has increased by nearly 9% on the year, but off from its peaks in Q2 2022.
• The availability of Residential Property Stock has improved as New Instructions moved higher, however, rental stock and performance, in general, remain depressed.
• Hybrid / Online Agents continue to struggle in the higher value brackets. The average market share overall has fallen to 7.3% from a high of 8.2% in 2019 and is overwhelmingly in the lower value bands and outside of the South East. As market conditions toughen, it is difficult to see how these groups will break through this ceiling.
• Mitigating the retail recession by focusing on homemovers. With higher interest rates and inflation, many forecasters anticipate a prolonged retail recession. However, with over 1.2 million households having moved in the last 12 months and a similar number forecast to move in the year ahead, homemovers offer a significant lifeline of expenditure as new owners transform their homes. Brands should consider adjusting their marketing to have a greater focus on the value of this consumer group.

Colin Bradshaw TwentyCi’s Managing Director, adds:

“2022 was a fast-moving, turbulent year when the widely anticipated housing market re-calibration began to take effect. Markets accustomed to analysing interest-rate movements in basis points had to swallow an increase of over 3 percentage points during the year. It remains to be seen whether inflation can be brought under control and further painful rate hikes avoided. In times like these knowledge is power our clients benefit greatest from the most complete and accurate housing market data available and our product continues to help them navigate the opportunities ahead.”