New data shows that the supply of homes available to buy last month was at the lowest level recorded for the month of July since 2002.
The July Housing Report from NAEA Propertymark (National Association of Estate Agents) reveals that:
- there was a decline in the number of properties available to buy on estate agents’ books, dropping from 37 in June to 35 in July;
- this figure is the lowest level recorded for the month of July since records began in 2002;
- the proportion of sales made to First Time Buyers (FTB) decreased from 30% in June to 23% in July;
- this is the lowest level in 10 months, when FTB sales made up 23% of sales in September 2016.
Seasonal Trends
The study also highlights that the number of people looking for properties fell 10% from 384 per branch in June, compared to 347 in July. This is the lowest it has been since November 2016 when 344 potential homebuyers were registered per branch. It is, however, a considerable increase from July 2016, when just 298 were recorded.
A spokesman from NAEA Propertymark explained: “It is natural for the market to dip in the summer and then recover. We usually see a subdued July and August, and then a boom in September with an influx of new properties coming onto the market, it remains to be seen whether this year is typical. We’d also expect to see the number of house hunter increase, as buyers strive to complete sales before the winter kicks in.”
