A String of Bank Holidays and a Royal Wedding failed to put Brits off buying property

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The UK housing market showed renewed signs of stability in April with sales remaining resilient despite three bank holiday weekends, according to estate agents.

The latest housing survey from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) showed that the average agent sold 8 properties per branch in April, the same as in March and February.

Elsewhere, the number of house hunters registering to look for property took a slight hit, moving from an average of 290 in March to 277 April. Despite the drop in demand, this remains in-line with year on year figures.

Supply levels across the country increased slightly with NAEA agents reporting 69 properties available per branch, up from 68 in March. This represents a significant increase on the 62 homes reported in April last year.

The number of sales made to first time buyers (FTB) decreased slightly, moving from 23 per cent to 21 per cent across March and April.

President of the NAEA, Michael Jones, said: "Although regional variations do remain, this latest report indicates that the housing market is showing some overall resilience to economic pressures. Despite the expected lull in activity during the Royal wedding celebrations as people took advantage of the series of bank holidays to go abroad, sales remained stable.

"This continued stability might well be attributed to the Easter break at the start of April, a time when our agents saw increased house hunter activity and the bulk of their sales for the month, which could have cushioned against the drop off towards the tail end.

"It is, however, disappointing to see the market share for first time buyer's decrease for a second month in a row. Although in-line with figures from this time last year, the Chancellor's Budget, which made special concessions for this group has had little effect so far. Had the government focused on fiscal stimulus policies across the wider property market, we might well have seen some much needed upward momentum instead."

*Please find a copy of the market report for April attached*