The number of individuals registering as prospective buyers with branches has risen by a third (33%) in September, up from 396 in August to 525 in September.

This number almost matches the current record of 581 per branch in June 2004.

Mark Heyward, chief of NEAE Propertymark argues that individuals always flood the market in September in the hopes that they can be settled by the time the festive period comes.

The pressure to complete sales is higher as many are wanting to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday. This has created immense spike in both buyers and sellers coming into the market. For every one property for sale there is an average of 13 interested buyers.

Due to this pressure there is a huge pressure for the stamp duty holiday to be extended. If it is not, then thousands of sales could fall through. This would have a drastic effect on the housing market which has proven resilient through the Covid-19 outbreak.

The average number of sales completed per branch stands at 14 in September. This is the highest figure since August 2006.

First time buyer sales however are dropping off. They make up only 19% of total sales in September. This percentage has not been so low since March 2013.