The number of people moving home hit a record low during the recession, but could be even lower now.
In 2009, only 9% of all households in England (2 million) had moved to their current homes within the previous 12 months, the lowest number since records began in 1994/95, according to the latest chapter of Social Trends, published by the Office of National Statistics.
Between 2007 and 2008 the number of property sales over £40,000 in the UK fell by 44% from 1.6 million to 900,000 due to the recession.
The picture was similar across the English regions and Wales, with property transactions falling by between 42% and 48%.
However, the number of transactions in Scotland fell by less (33%), while in Northern Ireland they fell by more (61%).
The ONS works to somewhat historic statistics. But with Land Registry figures showing transactions heading down again in 2010, and the slide continuing into this year, it looks entirely possible that new records will be recorded in low volumes of transactions.
Although the final figures are not in for the whole of 2010, the Land Registry has revealed that in the months July to October, transaction volumes averaged 59,829 a month – a decrease from the same period in 2009 when monthly sales volumes averaged 61,531.
Sales figures for properties priced between £100,000 and £200,000 were the worst hit.
By contrast, the number of properties sold in England and Wales for between £600,000 and £1m increased by 7%. Properties sold for over £2m increased by the same proportion.
The Land Registry data also shows a sharp north/south divide in prices for last year.
In parts of central London, house prices rose by 13.3% in December, whereas in Blackpool they fell by 4.7%, and in Blaenau Gwent they were down by 10.6%.
In London as a whole, property prices rose by 6.2%, with the average property value standing at £342,325 in comparison to the average for England and Wales of £163,814.
Overall, average house prices in England and Wales tip-toed down by just 0.2%.
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Comments
'Sales figures for properties priced between £100,000 and £200,000 were the worst hit'.
Ah, that'll be the typical FTB home, then. This also accounts for the 2009-2010 dead cat bounce; higher priced property skewing the average upwards.
So would-be FTBs are either prevented from entering the market (lack of cheap credit) or electing to stay out of the market (overheated prices; no point buying today when it'll likely be cheaper next year).
Given this premise; either the FSA will have an epiphany and encourage the banks to go back to pre-2007 lending or prices will drift down until such a point that FTBs can enter the market. On balance, i'll opt for the latter.