Home sales drop for second month in a row
Home sales have fallen for a second month in a row as fewer homeowners are listing their properties for sale.
The pace of house price growth is just starting to ease as the government’s stamp duty holiday is tapered out, according to the RICS UK Residential Market Survey for August 2021.
New buyer enquiries dropped for a second month in a row, with a net balance of -14 per cent of respondents saying they had seen even fewer house hunters. This followed a -9 per cent reading in July.
What’s more, agreed sales also fell in the same period as a net balance of -18 per cent experienced a drop.
However, sales are expected to stabilise over the next three months before returning to modest growth next year, with respondents to the survey feeling more optimistic about the market.
London confidence
Sales expectations for the year ahead were most confident across London, Northern Ireland and the South East of England.
New listings dropped once more with a net balance of -37 per cent reporting yet another fall, meaning that eight of the last nine months have seen new listings in negative territory.
Stock levels on agent’s books dropped from an average of 42 homes per branch at the start of 2021, to stand at 38 in August, edging towards near record lows.
A net balance of +73 per cent of respondents said they had seen house prices increase since the survey for July.
Looking at the year ahead, a net balance of +66 per cent said they did not expect prices to continue climbing at a national level.
Renter demand
August saw an increase in tenant demands for homes to rent as a net balance of +66 per cent experienced a pick-up in renting enquiries, up from +58 per cent in July.
Survey respondents (+64 per cent) said they expected rents would go up over the next three months because of the current imbalance between supply and demand,
Tarrant Parsons, RICS Economist, said: “The latest survey evidence inevitably points to market activity taking a breather following the flurry of sales seen ahead of the tapered stamp duty holiday withdrawal. That said, while momentum has eased relative to an exceptionally strong stretch earlier in the year, there are still many factors likely to drive a solid market going forward.
“Nevertheless, given the real shortfall in new listings becoming available of late, there remains stong competition amongst buyers and this is maintaining a significant degree of upward pressure on house prices. What’s more, prices are expected to continue to climb higher over the year to come, albeit the pace of increase is likely to subside somewhat in the months ahead.”