UK property: Stamp duty is still a barrier to sale as demand looks flat
Demand may be seeping out of the housing market, but it's taking its time about it.
The National Association of Estate Agents, which conducts monthly surveys of affiliated agents, found the average number of buyers registered per office had decreased 0.9 per cent between June and July,while the number of houses registered for sale increased by 11 per cent.
The association said the fall in the number of house hunters registering their interest could well have been affected by the traditionally depleted nature of the summer market, while the rise in the number of houses on the market could be down to sellers hoping to sell before the market tops out.
The number of actual sales, flat at nine in June, is hardly headline news either.
The report also contained further confirmation that stamp duty (always a contentious issue), has been a barrier to sales. More than a third of NAEA members said stamp duty has "frequently" put off house buyers, while 50 per cent said it had "occasionally" deterred them. Three-quarters "tend to stay within a stamp duty threshold to avoid pricing out a potential buyer and a massive 92% think the government should reform stamp duty land tax".
One thing to take from this is that we do seem to be seeing a sustained period of higher demand. Despite the average number of register buyers per branch being down (368) from its April peak of 392, demand is still higher than at any point since early 2007.