Demand for housing
- The number of house hunters registered per estate agent branch fell slightly in June, from 307 to 305, despite this, the number of prospective buyers remains high for the year.
- Year-on-year, housing demand is almost aligned, with just a one per cent difference from June 2018 when there was an average of 308 house hunters per branch.
Supply of available properties
- The number of properties available per member branch dropped in June, from 41 in May to 37.
- Year-on-year the supply of housing is down marginally, with 39 properties available to buy in June 2018.
Figure 1: Supply of available properties per branch
Sales agreed
- The number of sales agreed per member branch remained at nine in June, the same level for the second month running.
- Year-on-year, the number of property transactions stayed the same, with an average of nine sales agreed per branch in June 2018.
Sales to first-time buyers
- The number of sales made to first-time buyers in May decreased marginally, falling from 27 per cent in April, to 26 per cent
- Year-on-year, this is a decrease of six percentage points from June 2018 when it stood at 29 per cent.
It is encouraging to see the housing market bouncing back, with supply and demand rising to the highest levels seen since last year. It’s evident that buyers and sellers are no longer waiting for the outcome of Brexit and want to get things moving, particularly as many sellers are realising that it’s a buyers’ market in certain areas of the country. More than eight in 10 (81 per cent) properties sold for less than the original asking price in May, which shows that estate agents, with buyers and sellers, are successfully negotiating a property sale, with them coming to an agreement on the value of the home.
