Quick sale discounts may be driven by divorce

New research from quick sale specialists Open Property Group has found that sellers looking for a quick sale has risen by 82% year on year. Open Property Group examined current market stock data. It looked at the volume of homes that were listed for a quick sale with discounts available to buyers who can move quickly, and how this changed over the past year.

It found that there are as many as 3,543 homes listed across England with a need to sell quickly, an 82% increase over the same period last year. The North-West is home to nearly a fifth of this total with Yorkshire and the Humber seeing the biggest increase with a 98% jump in sellers looking for a quick sale. The South-East (+95%) and West Midlands (+93%) have seen an increase in the number of sellers in a rush. The South-West meanwhile boasts the largest quick-sale discount at 12.9%, followed by the North West (-12.9%) and London (-11.8%).

While there are multiple reasons for a seller to want a quick sale, one prevalent cause this time of year is divorce. Separated couples looking to part ways want to do so as quickly and cleanly as possible. Many divorce cases begin in the first quarter of the year which may also be increasing the demand for a rapid sale. This presents buyers with a chance for a discount.

“We’ve seen a huge surge in the number of homes entering the market with the specific requirement of a quick sale and this is an increase that is being seen at a national scale,” CEO of Open Property Group, Jason Harris-Cohen, said. “While there are numerous reasons that a seller may need to sell their home quickly, one unfortunate trend that we see at this time of year, in particular, is an increase in cases driven by divorce. It’s a difficult situation to find yourself in and most couples going through a separation simply want to get their home sold and move on with their lives.”