Home » Uncategorised »
Property Sales Up, Despite Fall in Supply and Demand
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Property sales were up in April, despite a decline in supply and demand for housing, according to the latest Housing Report from NAEA Propertymark (the National Association of Estate Agents).
Property sales
The number of property sales agreed per NAEA Propertymark member branch increased for the first time this year in April, from an average of seven in March to eight.
This is the highest level seen since October 2018, when eight sales per branch were also recorded.
Year-on-year, the number of property sales remains unchanged.
Housing supply
The amount of properties available to buy per NAEA Propertymark member branch dropped in April, from an average of 37 in March to 35.
Annually, however, housing supply has increased, with just 33 properties available in April last year.
Property demand
Following a rise in demand for housing in March, the average number of home hunters registered per member branch dropped by 10% in April, from 296 to 265.
Demand was at the lowest level recorded for the month of April since 2008 last month, when 237 home hunters were registered per branch, on average. Year-on-year, demand fell by a fifth (21%) from April 2018, when an average of 337 prospective buyers were registered per branch.
First time buyer sales
The amount of sales made to first time buyers in April rose marginally, from 26% in March to 27%.
On April last year, this marks an increase of three percentage points, from 24%.
Mark Hayward, the Chief Executive of NAEA Propertymark, comments: “Despite a fall in housing supply and demand, it’s encouraging to see an increase, for the first time this year, in the number of sales going through. This means that, even though buyers and sellers remain uncertain given the current climate, many are continuing to move forward with their transactions, and sales are still happening at the rate we would expect to see at this time of year.
“More than four in five properties are selling for less than the original asking price, so there’s opportunity for house buyers and sellers to negotiate an offer to get a sale moving.”
