"After strong hints from the Bank of England that we could expect an interest rate hike as early as November, the savvy buyer will take this opportunity to act now"
Transactions fell by 0.6% in September across England and Wales and by 1.5% in London. As the number of transactions decreased, the number of viewings increased meaning that buyers are choosing to look at more properties before they buy.
House prices across England and Wales in September dropped by 1.6% on the month, but are up 0.5% on the year.
Additionally, the data shows that the number of properties coming onto the market has fallen by 2.2% on the month, and is down by 14% on the year.
The average purchase price for first-time buyers has risen by 9.9% on the month, and by 0.1% on the year. This comes as the number of first-time buyers entering the market has fallen by 0.6% on the month, and by 10.6% on the year.
Paul Smith, CEO of Haart, commented: “The property market remained largely unchanged this month, as both prices and transactions remained relatively stable.
“However after strong hints from the Bank of England that we could expect an interest rate hike as early as November, the savvy buyer will take this opportunity to act now and lock themselves into great fixed rate deal whilst they can. I expect we will see a surge in autumn transactions as many rush to buy before a rate rise kicks in.
“If anything is holding buyers back it is tax, not Brexit. Stamp duty is one of the nation’s most despised taxes because it is so unfair, and because families and first-time buyers struggle to afford it on top of everything else.
“Buyers are being hit in every direction at the moment and the least the Government can do is offer to end stamp duty for first-time buyers in the Autumn Budget. It would give them that all important helping hand onto their first step of the ladder.”
