London Summer House Sales Hit A High

We know there is a lot of activity in the housing market right now. At Hunters Forest Hill, we are working closely with buyers and vendors looking to capitalise on the stamp duty holiday. We have also seen information provided by leading names in the housing sector, which provides further proof that people are looking to move soon.

Anyone looking for signs for optimism in the London housing market should consider figures provided by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) Propertymark in their recent housing report.

The report claims for July 2020, an average of 13 sales were agreed per branch. This is the largest number of homes sold in the UK for a single month since before the 2007 global financial crisis. This return was 44% higher than the number of sales agreed in July 2019.

There is no denying the stap duty holiday is likely to have spurred significant interest in the housing market in July, and of course, sales can be agreed quickly. With the stamp duty holiday announced on 8^th of July, it is likely a significant proportion of these sales would have come after the measures introduced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Increase in vendors signing up to sell their home

One of the most impressive aspects of the stamp duty holiday is its influence on homeowners looking to sell. There is a need to encourage more vendors to be active in the market, and the figures provided by NAEA Propertymark suggests vendors and buyers are active.

The number of property hunters registered with an estate agent increased to 428 per branch. This is a 35% increase on the July 2019 figures.

Mark Hayward is the Chief Executive of NAEA Propertymark and he said; “Usually we would expect to see a lull in activity during the summer months. However, demand remains unabated with no signs that this will not continue. With the recent stamp duty holiday announcement, we expect the housing market to remain busy throughout the rest of the summer.”

Close to two-thirds of the property sold in July sold for less than asking price and 8% sold for more than the asking price. There was a drop in the number of sales to first-time buyers, with this demographic making up 25% of the buyer market.

The stamp duty holiday isn’t aimed at first-time buyers

This isn’t a surprise. The stamp duty holiday isn’t aimed at first-time buyers. Therefore, it is likely other buyers are taking advantage of the holiday to get involved.

Rightmove have also provided figures which are in line with the NAEA Propertymark figures. The leading property portal in the UK announced a total of £37 billion property sales between July and August. Halifax have also provided information which backs up the thought of busy activity in the housing activity. The most recent report issued by Halifax indicates the average house price of £242,000 is a record high for the UK. There were four months of falls for the average house price, but the recent figures are in line with the activity seen in the current marketplace.

At Hunters Forest Hill, we know selling property is challenging, but we are here to assist you in the process. If you aim to buy, sell, let your home or rent property, we are active in New Cross, Peckham, Dulwich and Brockley, in addition to Forest Hill, so get in touch with one of the top three agents in London, and we will be happy to assist you.