Housing demand drops amid election uncertainty: NAEA

The number of house hunters fell in April, as uncertainty triggered by the snap General Election started to take effect, according to the National Association of Estate Agents.

Related topics:  Finance News
Rozi Jones
30th May 2017
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"Periods of political uncertainty tend to halt activity in the housing market, and this is exactly what we’re seeing this month."

In March there were 397 per estate agent branch, down from 425 in January and February, but this figure dropped by a further 4% to 381 in April as buyers put their plans on hold until the result is clear.

However last April, amid Brexit uncertainty, the number of house-hunters searching for properties was 17% lower at just 325 per member branch.

Supply also fell in April, dropping by 8% from March to just 36 properties available to buy per branch. This is the lowest level seen since April 2016 when agents had just 35 properties to market, as sellers held off until after the EU referendum.
 
The number of sales agreed per branch fell from 10 in March to eight in April, while the proportion of sales made to first-time buyers stayed the same at 25%.

Mark Hayward, Chief Executive, NAEA Propertymark, said: “Periods of political uncertainty tend to halt activity in the housing market, and this is exactly what we’re seeing this month. All of the main political parties have outlined significant housing promises in their manifestos and we’d hope to see these policies rolled out in the new Government’s first six to 12 months in Parliament. Buyers and sellers alike are recognising this and adopting a ‘wait and see’ strategy to decipher how or if the value of their existing or future homes will be affected.
 
“However, despite the fact that increasing housing stock is playing a part in the Election campaigning, more often than not we find these pledges are unachievable and turn out to be empty promises. It’s therefore important that the market doesn’t totally stall as this could trigger an unintended domino effect, which we could still feel the effect of years later before supply increases. A business as usual approach will ensure house-hunters are met with a healthy supply of properties to view, and sellers get a fair price and a good buyer.”

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