According to the figures, the number of non-adjusted residential transactions was about 13% higher compared with May 2018 but 8.8% lower than in June 2017.
Over the first half of 2018, the seasonally adjusted total is 586,530 completed house sales, 4.5% down on 2017's figure.
Neil Knight, Business Development Director of Spicerhaart Part Exchange & Assisted Move said: “The number of (non-seasonally adjusted) residential transactions was 13% higher in June compared with last month. This is a bigger rise than May’s 12.1% increase and has most likely been boosted by first time buyers, who, according to data released this week outnumbered home movers in the first half of 2018 for the first time ever.
At the moment it appears that it is first time buyers - being incentivised by schemes like help to buy – purchasing new builds that are driving both the property and mortgage markets. This is supported by last week’s (non-seasonally adjusted) construction output figures from the ONS which showed that while all new construction work was up just 1% on the previous year, output on new housing was up 5.7%.
And while it is encouraging to see steady growth in the new build sector, if we want to keep the market moving, we need to be looking at building a wider variety of properties and residential developments, so that home movers and downsizers have options too.
Developers often choose new build schemes aimed at first time buyers because there is no chain, so it is easier to sell the properties and move on. But we work with a number of developers on schemes aimed at different areas of the market, including downsizers, offering part-exchange and assisted move options which eliminates chains and frees builders and developers up to work on their next project.”
Mike Scott, chief property analyst at Yopa, says: "The housing market is slowing down again with the number of house sales completing in June some 5.7 per cent lower than the same month last year, in what is normally the busiest month of the year for completions.
We now have figures for the first half of the year, and the seasonally adjusted total is 586,530 completed house sales, 4.5 per cent down on the 614,240 in the first half of 2017. It seems likely that the total for the year will fall short of 1.2 million house sales, and so it will be the worst year since 2013, although only down on previous years by a few percent.
The slowdown seems to be driven by both lower supply and lower demand, and so it is unlikely to have much effect on house prices, which will continue to increase as long as we keep the current situation of low unemployment, low interest rates and good availability of mortgages."
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, says: "For us, the number of property transactions is always a much better indicator of market strength than house prices, with recent economic and political uncertainty reflected in these lower, seasonally-adjusted numbers. We certainly would have expected higher figures bearing in mind the spring buying season is generally the best for the property market.
However, we are not really surprised when, on the ground, we are seeing fewer buyers nervously trying to negotiate best possible terms and transaction times lengthening as a result. We don’t expect to see any great change but have noticed more listings and viewings in the past month or so, which hopefully will be reflected in slightly higher transaction numbers later in the year.
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, says: "With an August interest rate rise now looking very unlikely, lenders are offering some great summer sizzler mortgage deals that will give a welcome boost to the housing market over coming months. Five-year fixed rates, in particular, are still very attractive with a number pegged at less than 2 per cent, providing security from potential rate rises over the medium term."
