NAEA member agents found that 30% of homes were sold to FTBs in February, the highest amount since September 2014; sales to FTBs have not reached higher than 30% since records began in 2009.
Findings in February also show that demand for property is up, with 366 house hunter’s registered per NAEA member branch, up from 353 in January. With supply marginally down from 44 houses per branch last month, to 43 this month, there’s still a significantly higher demand than supply of housing, a problem that is unlikely to be solved anytime soon.
The total number of sales agreed in February remained the same as previous months, with eight house sales going through per NAEA member branch.
Mark Hayward, managing director, National Association of Estate Agents said: “It’s clear from the findings in the report that things are starting to ease for first time buyers, which could be down to reduced property prices or more accessible funding, especially following December’s stamp duty reforms. We will all be waiting with bated breath to see if the first time buyer figures increase following the new Help to Buy ISA, and whether we see real momentum in the market. It still remains notoriously hard to get cut-through in the property market, especially for first time buyers, so any green shoots are encouraging.”
Looking ahead to the General Election
Interestingly, almost half (46%) of NAEA member agents have seen the market cooling in the lead up to the General Election. With over a quarter (27%) of agents thinking the General Election will have the biggest impact on the housing market this year.
When it comes to policy proposals, two fifths (45%) of agents think that the Conservatives’ pledge to build 200,000 more homes will have the best impact on the housing market. On the downside, three fifths (57%) of agents think Labour’s proposed Mansion Tax will have a negative impact on the housing market.
Mark Hayward continued: “Demand is still vastly outweighing supply in this country, so it is clear something needs to be done to aid this growing problem. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this year’s General Election, but whoever wins it is vital that building more affordable homes is top of their agenda.”
