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November Slump Recorded in Property Market
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
The latest data from Agency Express’ Property Activity Index shows a November slump in the housing market last month.
November’s figures highlight a cooling across the UK property market as we approach the Christmas period.
Nationally, the number of properties sold in November dropped by 8.9% on a monthly basis, with the amount of new property listings also falling, by 2.3%, on the previous month.
However, while this November slump comes as no surprise, the Property Activity Index also reveals an increase in activity year-on-year for new property listings. Looking back at Agency Express’ historical records, annual comparisons show that the declines made in 2017 are far less than those recorded both 12 and 24 months ago (-4.7% in 2016 and -12.2% in 2015).
Figures for the number of properties sold, however, did not show the same resilience, with a further decline on November 2016’s 1.8% decrease.
Looking at regional performances across the country, just three of the 12 areas covered in the Property Activity Index bucked the seasonal trend.
November’s top performer was Central England, which recorded a robust rise in new property listings, of 19.6%. Again, assessing the index’s historical records, we can see that Central England constantly returns buoyant figures in November, with last month’s increase marking a record best for the region.
Other regions to challenge the November slump included:
New property listings
- Yorkshire and the Humber: +0.3%
Properties sold
- East Midlands: +4.4%
The steepest decline in November’s index was recorded in Wales. The number of new property listings fell for the third consecutive month, by 25.2%, while the amount of properties sold dropped for the second month in a row, by 12.7%. This decrease marked the region’s largest monthly decline for November since the index’s first records in 2012.
Stephen Watson, the Managing Director of Agency Express, comments on the November slump: “Throughout November and as we approach the run-up to Christmas, we inherently expect for the market to slow in pace. While we have witnessed the usual downturn in activity, year-on-year figures remain robust, and this leaves us optimistic for a buoyant market in the New Year.”
