FTB sales at 8 month low

The latest figures from NAEA Propertymark have shown that sales to first-time buyers fell in October to the lowest figure seen since February - dropping 11% from the previous month.

Related topics:  Property
Warren Lewis
29th November 2017
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According to the report, the number of properties on the market increased marginally yet the number of sales agreed remained the same.

Sales agreed and sales to first-time buyers:

The number of sales agreed per branch is yet to pick up following the quieter summer months, remaining stagnant at eight on average per branch since July.
 
Demand for housing

Despite having a significant increase in September, the number of house hunters registered at estate agents dropped 11%, from 394 to 349 per branch on average, in October.

Supply of properties

The number of properties available to buy on estate agents’ books increased marginally from 41 in September, to 42 in October.
 
What properties sold for

The number of properties that sold for more than the asking price rose for the first time since July, to 4%. The number of homes which sold for less than asking price dropped to 78% last month – down four percentage points from September.
 
Mark Hayward, Chief Executive, NAEA Propertymark said: “First-time buyers have felt locked out of the market for some time and our figures continue to highlight how the problem is only getting worse. However, following the announcement of the abolishment of stamp duty for first-time buyers in last week’s Autumn Budget, we hope to see more first-time buyers coming to the market and making their dream a reality. We do however need to realise that if we don’t have the supply to meet the increased demand from FTBs it’s likely we’ll see house prices increase.” 

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