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Number of property sales down

Journalist: Jake Carter, Mortgage Introducer

ended 13. September 2023

The number of property sales this year is expected to be at the lowest level recorded since 2012, according to Zoopla.

Is this something you have seen in the market?

How will this impact the housing market going forward?

Are you advising clients to sit tight and wait for better conditions before purchasing? Or to push ahead?

How have you been impacted by market conditions?

 What are you doing to maintain business and keep profits up in the face of issues like this?

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Ranald Mitchell
Director at bad credit mortgage specialists Charwin Mortgages
Unsurprising data reported by Zoopla as many elect to stay put, batten down the hatches and weather the storm. Builders are slowing down production, and borrowers are less reluctant to mortgage at higher market rates. As for the aspirational homeowners, the best time to buy is when you can afford to. Get on the ladder and start investing in your future. There never is an ideal time, so why wait for it?
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Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
The number of properties for sale remains high, it is the number of agreed sales that are in free-fall. This is due to a lack of buyers who can afford the properties for sale. A price correction is happening but more gradually than a crash, when prices become more in line with buyer affordability, sale numbers will recover.
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Emma Jones
Managing Director at Whenthebanksaysno.co.uk
Summer break & natural slow down from the pandemic have added to some of the data been reported. There’s going to be no overnight fix for interest rates, I can’t imagine clients “sitting it out” for too long, families grow, jobs change, rents are increasing. It’s a matter of time before things start to move again, just not at the pace they did during the pandemic.
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Graham Cox
Director at Bridging Hub
Properties bought with a mortgage are down about 35% this year. It's a seismic drop in transaction levels, yet completely unsurprising given where mortgage rates are.

House prices are going to fall very quickly until mortgage rates fall below 5 percent, maybe 4.5 percent. We've already seen a 1.8% drop reported by the Halifax for August. That's likely to be the first of many 1%+ monthly falls over the coming year.

It's incredible to me that a lot of the usual vested industries are saying house prices will only fall 10% from peak to trough, when we're already well over halfway there and house price falls are accelerating. Double it and you'll be in the right ballpark.
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Imran Khan
Co-founder & CEO at QuantumLoopAI
The decline in property sales is a significant concern. Even Berkeley Homes recently reported a 35% drop in new home reservations, underlining the market's struggle. It's a buyer's market in theory, but high interest rates are eroding affordability. The Bank of England's data on increasing arrears signals a trend that will only worsen, particularly if interest rates continue to climb. So, it's not about lack of demand, it's about financial feasibility. While rentals are booming, the sales sector is starved for qualified buyers. If you can afford it, buy now but exercise financial caution. We're at the start of an 18- to 24-month turbulent period for the property market, largely due to unaffordable mortgage rates.
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Rhys Schofield
Brand Director at Peak Mortgages and Protection
The thing to remember that if you are moving it doesn't always matter what's going on with house prices. House prices up? Well you'll need to pay more for your onward purchase. House prices down? Your next purchase will probably be cheaper too. If you want to move, move and don't try to 2nd guess how much of a notional figure you've gained or lost unless you're a property developer flipping houses.
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Joe Stallard
Director and Advisor at House and Holiday Home Mortgages
Whatever the market does, clients have to determine what’s right for them. Trying to see into the future without a powerful crystal ball is like climbing Everest in a snowstorm without crampons. Needless to say, a fall in house prices will benefit some more than others... and for many, it's a long wait in base camp to see what happens next.

We've seen business levels drop to a much quieter place in terms of purchase activity. Proceed with caution seems to be the way to go, with people only buying if they've got a good reason -- usually because of work or family commitments.