Pressure on the sales and lettings market eased last month as 72% of house purchases were agreed below the asking price, while 51% of estate agents report rents falling or staying the same, data from Propertymark shows.  

House prices fell because competition for homes fell by 36%, from a high of 11 new buyers for every new property instructed, to just 7 buyers per member branch, according to the estate agents body’s November Housing Insight Report.  

The study says: “Buyers who were caught in bidding wars are now back in the driving seat as total available properties on the market continues to rise to an average of 33 properties per estate agent branch. That is a 74% increase in homes to choose from since the start of the year.”  

It adds, the number of new buyers registering per branch dropped to 52 last month, down from a high of 86 in August.  

The average number of sales agreed per branch fell to six in November, from 10 in September.  

And the average number of properties available to buy per branch rose slightly to 33 last month. This compares to a pre-pandemic November average of 38, over the four years running up to the health crisis.  

On lettings, the report says a rise in the supply of homes for rent has reduced pressure on rents, with the number of agents reporting month-on-month rent price rises falling to 49%, the first time this figure has fallen below 50% since February 2021. This mark is down from a high of 82% of agents reporting rising rents in July.  

It adds, there were an average of 77 new renters registered per branch last month. This number has continued the drop off since September’s high of 147, but it is still above the pre-pandemic November average of 61, over the two years prior to the crisis.  

Agents reported having 11 properties on average per branch available to rent in November, up slightly from the previous month’s figure of nine.  

Propertymark chief executive Nathan Emerson says: “The sales market is firmly back in the hands of buyers who have been on the back foot for 18 months.   

“More property is available but the competition between those looking has cooled substantially. For those motivated to sell, good, solid buyers are still prominent.  

“As for lettings, we are starting to see a decrease in demand, the knock-on effect is that fewer agents are seeing rent rises. It’s possible that prices have peaked, and landlords are well aware that any more rises won’t necessarily be achieved.   

“This is not all good news, however, as landlord’s costs are still rising, leaving many facing a very real possibility of making a loss.”