Property sales continue to slump
As most people are aware the sale of properties in the UK has really fallen over recent months, and estate agents have reported amongst their poorest sales figures of properties for decades. A recent report has shown that property sales have now fallen by 40%. In the last three months estate agents have average around five property sales a month each, as property transactions continue to plummet, and homeowners looking to sell their homes are finding things very difficult, with many feeling pressured to reduce the price and sell to predatory buyers looking to take advantage of the slow market by offering desperate selling ridiculously low prices.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has stated that the number of property transactions going through estate agents’ books is at its lowest in thirty years, and pressure is being put on the government to try and find a way to revive the ailing housing market. RICS officials also said that over 83% of estate agents are now reporting falls in property sales, and the figure was even higher for the previous month.
One official from RICS stated: ‘Newly -agreed sales fell for the 14th consecutive month. The declines took place across all regions in England and Wales, with the sharpest falls in the West Midlands and Wales. New buyer inquiries continued to fall, at the fastest pace in Wales and the North and the slowest in London, the South East and South West.’
A number of factors are thought to be fuelling the housing crisis at the moment, and for the time being at least there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. House prices have been falling for some months now, and many would be buyers are nervous that if they take the plunge now the value of the property they buy could continue to fall, quickly leaving them facing negative equity. This is one of the issues that may be affecting the sale of properties in the UK.
The ongoing mortgage drought is another contributory factor, with mortgage lending still very slow and many lenders still being very careful about who to lend to. Many people are unable to get a mortgage due to the mortgage drought, with many lenders having taken a range of mortgage products off the shelves. In addition to this lenders have increase the cost of mortgages pushing up everything from the interest rate to mortgage arrangement fees, making it impossible for many first time buyers to get a mortgage.
One final factor that is impacting upon property sales is that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has suggested that stamp duty may be suspended for first time buyers planning to purchase a property of up to £250,000 in value. Some buyers are now holding off from making a purchase in case they miss out on the suspension of stamp duty, but with the government unwilling to confirm this until the autumn this could impact upon property sales for some months to come.
Tags: property sales, drought, Chartered, everything, stamp duty, selling, mortgage drought
