Low stock prompts property call
A Potteries estate agency has stepped up its efforts to get more houses onto its books - a move prompted by a serious shortage of houses for sale, which is driving up demand for property in the area.
Heywoods Estate Agents, based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, is struggling to meet the high demand for property and is calling on homeowners to take advantage of the upsurge in interest from househunters in the North Staffordshire area.
The call comes hot on the heels of the latest monthly report by Rightmove.co.uk, which suggests that the number of properties on the housing market is at its lowest since the company first started compiling figures back in 2000.
Rightmove estimates that the average number of properties available per UK agency branch now stands at a record low of 63.
Heywoods said that estate agents in the Midlands and the North, where average house prices were lower, traditionally operated on a higher volume basis and that househunters could therefore still at least expect to walk into any local agency and view considerably more than 63 properties for sale.
Nevertheless, the company is desperately trying to keep up with demand and has launched a January promotion of 15% off its sale fees in a bid to attract more sales instructions from local homeowners.