Property sales down by a quarter as market ‘grinds to a halt’ - claim

The level of property sales fell by a quarter in the first half of this year in what is being described as a sign of the market grinding to a halt.

Quick-buy firm the House Buyer Bureau analysed sales volume data from the Land Registry, looking at the average number of monthly property transactions to have taken place between January and June 2022.

It then looked at how this level of market activity compares with the six months prior - July 2021 to December 2021. 

The research shows an average of 61,651 homes sold across the UK on a monthly basis between January and June 2022, 23.8% fewer than the 80,958 sold per month in the previous six months. 

The North East has seen the largest decline, with a 32.5% drop in transaction levels, while the North West has also seen a notable decline, down 28.3%.

While all other regions have seen a decline of at least 20%, the London market has seen the average number of monthly transactions fall by just 8.4% in the past six months. 

The research doesn’t appear to take account of the Stamp Duty holiday that was still in place between July and October 2021.

Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of House Buyer Bureau, said:  “We’ve suspected for quite some time that the market was beginning to lose momentum following such a sustained period of heightened market activity. 

“While there has yet to be any notable decline in topline house prices, we’ve seen previous signs that mortgage approvals were stuttering and we’re now starting to see this translate to a drop in transaction levels. 

“This decline is only going to intensify moving forward, as the increased cost of securing a mortgage continues to climb to some of the highest levels seen in years. With more buyers being deterred from entering the market, sellers will start to find that they simply can’t expect to secure the same price as they would have during the dizzying heights of the pandemic market boom. 

“As this pendulum shifts, there’s no doubt that house prices will start to fall and it’s only a matter of time before this decline surfaces.”