30th Jan 12
New house buyers drop by 10.5 per cent
by Natasha Redman
Safe as houses? prices have not risen since June 2010 leading to uncertainty among new buyers
Safe as houses? prices have not risen since June 2010 leading to uncertainty among new buyers
There has been no respite for the struggling property market as the amount of new buyers fell by over 10 per cent in January compared with the previous month.
Property analytics firm Hometrack’s latest monthly survey revealed that the amount of new buyers who registered with estate agents dropped by 10.5 per cent in January, on the back of declines 2.2 per cent and 6.3 per cent in November and December respectively.
The length of time that a property takes to sell is also going up, from 9.9 weeks recorded in November to this month’s figure of 10.2 weeks. Meanwhile, the number of agreed sales, which jumped 4.6 per cent in November, has dropped by 14.3 per cent during the last month.
Hometrack revealed that prices were static. The survey also indicates that house prices have not increased for 18 months. The firm’s director of research Richard Donnell said that the survey shows that the market is dogged by uncertainty, highlighted by the fact that house prices on a national basis have not gone up since June 2010.
However, London has seen a small increase in house prices which, in turn, offset drops in other regions. The capital’s relatively positive housing market is set to maintain its upward curve through the year as the fact the Olympics is coming to town continues to attract interest in property in the city.
Mr Donnell same that the average length if time a property is on the market offers the clearest guide to how health the housing market is. However, while there has been a fall in the national average to 10.5 weeks, when looking at the regional figures there is a growing north-south divide.
In the Midlands and the northern regions, the average time is 11.9 weeks. Meanwhile, in the comparatively buoyant London market, the length of time on the market has dropped to 6.5 weeks, less than the 6.9 weeks which was recorded at the start of last year.
Economists are studying some key house price and lending figures which are due to give a further indication this week of the property market’s faltering health. The Bank of England is likely to report this week that there was an increase in house purchase mortgage approvals last month to a two-year high of 54,000, from November’s figure of 52,854.
However, mortgage approvals are still extremely low in comparison with the average figures seen over the long term. A figure between 70,000 and 80,000 has been considered consistent in the past with stable house prices.
Meanwhile, Nationwide is likely to report later in the week that house prices dropped by a month-on-month figure of 0.2 per cent, the same rate as was seen in December.
Our Stories
- Sandwich labels misleading shoppers
- Unemployment drops unexpectedly but worse still to come
- Tesco store managers see annual bonuses cut
- Royal Mail: half London sorting office to be sold
- Panasonic announces £3.4bn loss
- Thomas Cook attacks government over holidays at home promotion
- Clinton Cards falls into administration
- Wet April sees high street spending fall
- Five tough years ahead for UK jobs market
- Deal struck to save Thomas Cook
- Discount battle leads to sales decline at Morrisons
- Wetherspoon founder: pubs plans to be hit by taxes
Popular Topics
afghanistan al qaeda amazon Apple ASDA bank of england barack obama BBC british airways china david cameron Debenhams Egypt facebook george osborne Google India ipad iphone ivory coast japan Libya London M&S Marks & Spencer Morrisons nhs North Korea Office for National Statistics pakistan protests russia Sainsbury’s South Korea terrorism Tesco Tunisia UK UK retailers UK retail news UK shopping us Waitrose Wikileaks x factorArchive
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- January 2009
