“Every reason to be optimistic about the property market in 2022”
Professional cash house buyers concluded another strong year of business last year, showing that in an unpredictable market cash property buyers have a growing role to play.
A new survey from trade body NAPB shows that members bought even more houses than the previous year, and are optimistic about the property market in the coming year.
The National Association of Property Buyers or NAPB is the foremost representative of UK professional property buyers. Members include the largest companies in the sector who together buy around £500,000,000 of property every year.
The results of the latest member survey reveal some interesting information not only about the cash buying sector, but about the health of the UK property market overall.
NAPB members reported that they bought on average 59 properties each in 2021. The average price they paid for each property was £174,700. (The average UK house price reached around £268,000 towards the end of 2021 according to HM Land Registry figures.)
70% increase business levels, more growth anticipated
Perhaps more interestingly, however, members reported a sharp increase in business levels in 2021 compared to 2020, indicating the growing popularity of this method of selling. Seventy percent of members said they had increased business levels over the year, with 20% saying business was about the same. Only 10% said business levels had decreased slightly.
A majority of members said that they expect interest in selling houses for cash to continue to grow this year. A full eighty percent of them expect to do more business in 2022 than they did in 2021.
NAPB members shared some interesting information about why sellers had opted to sell to a fast cash house buying service. They said that around 40% of their clients sold this way because they didn’t want viewings. While 20% opted for this method because they owned a property in disrepair, which could be difficult to sell in the usual way. Other reasons stated by sellers for choosing to sell quickly for cash included that they had a short lease, structural problems or a cladding issue.
Majority optimistic about the market
Looking to the future, the survey asked members about their thoughts for the property market in 2022. A large majority of them (90%) said they felt optimistic about the market this year. On property prices, NAPB members felt they would continue to rise. The consensus was that house prices would increase around 3% nationally, but that northern home owners would benefit from a 6% rise in house prices.
Jonathan Rolande of NAPB said: “The last couple of years have been a roller coaster for the property market, with everything from a complete market shutdown to a buying boom somewhere in the mix. So it’s pleasing to see that it has been another satisfactory year for our members.
“What it also shows is that cash buying services are becoming an established and very important part of the housing market. While that’s good for our members of course it’s even better news for the selling public. It shows that house owners have an easy way to sell their house quickly for cash, particularly if they decide that the conventional agency route isn’t for them.
“We agree that there’s every reason to be optimistic about the property market in 2022 and we look forward to our members being able to help many more house sellers sell their property quickly for cash throughout the coming year.”
