Sales to first-time buyers (FTBs) and sales per branch

• The Chancellor’s FTB stamp duty relief seems to be having the desired effect, as sales to the group rose to 29 per cent in February, from 27 per cent in January
• Year on year, FTB sales were the best since February 2015. Last year they stood at 22 per cent and in 2016, only 24 per cent of sales were made to the group [see figure 1]
• The average number of sales agreed per branch rose from seven in January to eight last month – the highest amount since October 2017.

Figure 1: Year on year sales to FTBs since February 2015

Demand for housing

• The number of prospective house-hunters fell by 16 per cent in February – from 367 registered per branch, to 309
• Year on year this is down by 28 per cent, as agents had 425 house-hunters registered per branch in February 2017

Supply of properties

• In line with demand, the number of properties available for sale per branch dropped from 36 in January to 35 in February.

What properties sold for

• 74 per cent of properties sold for less than the original asking price in February, with only four per cent selling for more than the asking price
• The rate of properties which sold at asking price stood at 22 per cent – the highest level since June 2016, when 26 per cent of properties went for asking price.