- Average number of house hunters registered per branch decreased from 294 in June to 293 in
July.
- Average number of sales agreed per branch remained the same with 7 in June and July.
- Average number of properties available for sale per branch decreased from 63 in June to 61 in
July.
- Average percentage of first time buyers (FTBs) decreased from 19 per cent in June to 18 per
cent in July.
As anticipated, the UK housing market saw a slight slowdown in activity across both supply and
demand during July, though sales remained consistent.
Estate agents cited the busy summer holiday period as well as sporting distractions due to the
ongoing Olympics events as principal reasons for the lull in demand for property. The number of
house-hunters registering with an NAEA branch decreased slightly from an average of 294 in June to 293 in July. This is lower than figures recorded for the same month last year where agents recorded an average 299 registrations per branch. Patrick Bullick, NAEA regional executive for Central London described the decrease as particularly acute in this area given the bulk of Olympic activity has being going on in the capital.
Supply levels also saw a slight decrease over the course of the month. The number of available
properties recorded decreased from 63 in June to 61 in July. This represents the second consecutive month of decreases and is significantly down on figures recorded in July 2011 when an average 70 properties were available to house-hunters.
Sales remained consistent with an average 7 per branch over the course of July – the fifth
consecutive month at this level. It is encouraging to see that despite a slowdown in supply and
demand levels, sales were unaffected. Martyn Baum, NAEA regional executive for the Midlands,
suggested this might be the result of serious buyers and sellers remaining in the market during July.
The important first time buyer market was affected during the course of July despite reports from
Nationwide that house prices fell at the steepest annual rate for three years. This coincides with
Britain’s biggest building society recently announcing plans to increase its mortgage rates for new
borrowers, with rises of 0.3 percentage points on some of its fixed-rate products and 0.2 percentage points on tracker mortgages. The number of first time buyers recorded by NAEA agents decreased from 19 per cent in June to 18 per cent in July, marking a decrease on figures recorded last year.
Martyn Baum, NAEA Regional Executive for Midlands said:
"July is often a quiet month with a lull in the property market resulting from many buyers choosing to take holidays abroad but for many Midlands based NAEA members, July bucked this trend.
A number reported that the month showed reasonably good sales results especially in market towns and rural villages. That said, regional variation continued and in some areas there was an emphasis on the quality of buyers and not necessary the quantity sold. For example, viewings to sales ratios were some of the lowest of the year for one agent in Leicestershire (6 viewings to 1 sale).
"The majority of sales that were made were below £250,000 with many taking at least one price
reduction to get the offer and further negotiation from there showing the market locally is still price
sensitive."
Hayley Brown, NAEA Regional Executive for East Anglia commented:
"The region saw a predictably slow month in July with school holidays impacting on the downturn in activity as is usual for this time of year. The Olympic fever that has had everyone glued to their sets also had an impact but this was felt more towards the end of the month as events began.
"Overall, viewings have been markedly down and listings are dry but we do expect the August data to reveal a turnaround."
Michael Poole, NAEA Regional Executive for the North-North Sector added:
"Despite the summer holidays, weather and the Olympics proving a distraction for some househunters, most agents are reporting a reasonable level of viewings with resultant offers. Prices have still remained fairly static though with the majority of sales agreed below the £250,000 mark. We continue to see that strict lenders underwriting procedures are having an effect on aborted sales."
