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Property Market Activity Slowed across the UK in April, Agency Express Reports
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 market activity slowed across the UK in April, according to the latest Property Activity Index from Agency Express.
Nationally, the number of new property listings dropped by 4.6% in the month from March to April, while the amount of properties sold was down by 6.7%.
Over a three-month rolling period, figures show more stability in property market activity, with new listings up by 2.9% and the number of properties sold up by a robust 7.8%.
Looking at the individual regions included in the index, all except two recorded declines in both new property listings and the amount of properties sold.
The strongest levels of property market activity in April were recorded in the West Midlands, with a slight uptick in new listings (0.1%) and a 6.6% rise in the number of properties sold. While these increases were small, they marked the region’s first growth in property market activity for the month of April since 2016.
The South East also recorded a rise in new listings, of 1.0%. However, looking back at Agency Express’ historical data, property market activity has declined since April 2018, when new listings were up by 6.3%.
The regions to record the smallest declines in April’s index included:
New property listings
- East Anglia: -0.8%
- North West: -1.9%
- South West: -4.9%
- East Midlands: -5.6%
- Central England: -6.3%
Properties sold
- East Anglia: -4.7%
- Central England: -5.0%
- South West: -5.9%
- East Midlands: -6.7%
- North West: -7.4%
The greatest decreases in April’s index were recorded in the North East. Month-on-month, the number of new property listings dropped by 14.1%, while the amount of properties sold fell by 32.2%. Again, looking back at Agency Express’ historical records, we can see that yearly figures for new listings have remained on trend, but the number of properties sold has come down.
Stephen Watson, the Managing Director of Agency Express, says: “It is not uncommon for us to see a seasonal dip in activity throughout April, but this year’s data shows a greater month-on-month decline compared to 12 months previous.
“Based on the trends of the last two years, we would now expect a pick-up in activity during May and a further increase in June. As we move into these months, it will be interesting for us to see how the year-on-year comparisons fare.”
