Thursday, November 04, 2010
Sales remained strong across the property market in September,
despite the number of house hunters falling for the second month,
according to estate agents.
The National Association of Estate Agents' market report for
September showed a slight decrease in the number of house hunters
registering with an agent across the country. The figure declined
from 250 in August to 247 in September as an average per
branch.
The number of houses available for sale increased from 69 per
branch in August to 72 in September while the number of sales
remained the same at 7 per branch on average.
The percentage of sales made to first time buyers dropped from
21 per cent in August to 20 per cent in September, suggesting that
this group continues to encounter difficulty in obtaining a
mortgage.
NAEA President Michael Jones said: "It is good to see that sales
have remained consistent but the drop in the number of first time
buyers is still a concern.
"Assisting the first time buyers market is imperative if we are
to strengthen the housing industry in this country. This means that
the banks have to become less restrictive in their lending
policies.
"Plans by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to introduce
tougher measures on mortgages are likely to serve only to restrict
this part of the market further, and we would urge them to refrain
from doing so."