Digital logbooks for homes needed in 2020, says NAEA

NAEA member agents have delivered a relatively downbeat forecast for 2020 - but the organisation says an injection of digital technology could help.

The National Association of Estate Agents, which questioned its members last month, discovered that 28 per cent expect house prices to fall in 2020 while 56 per cent predict prices to stay the same.

A quarter think the number of sales made to first-time buyers will increase and 58 per cent expect it to stay the same; meanwhile a third expect demand to decrease and only a quarter think supply will increase.

“The changing political landscape throughout 2019 has undoubtedly caused uncertainty in the housing market, which in turn has affected sentiment and decision-making” explains Mark Hayward, the NAEA’s chief executive.

“We’d like to see the government commit to bringing regulation into the sector as soon as they can in the New Year and to consider the introduction of digital logbooks to allow for a more interactive, streamlined and transparent process for home buyers and sellers. 

“The housing market needs reassurance from the government, which will in turn inject some confidence in the market for both buyers and sellers.

“Despite the difficult year, the UK property market remains a strong sector overall, and has demonstrated a huge amount of resilience in the face of political turmoil. We hope for a more certain outlook and some stability in 2020, which is hopefully provided sooner rather than later.”