In April, the number of property sales agreed per estate agency branch increased to the highest level seen since October, according to the latest data from the NAEA Propertymark.
The number of sales agreed per member branch increased for the first time this year, rising from an average of seven per branch in March, to eight in April. This is the highest level seen since October 2018, when the same number of sales were recorded per branch. However, year-on-year, the number of property transactions remains the same.
The increase in sales continued despite the number of house hunters registered at each brand falling by 10% in April, from 296 to 265. Year-on-year, demand was at the lowest level recorded for the month of April since 2008 when 237 house hunters were registered on average per branch. Housing demand also fell by a fifth (21%) from April 2018 when there were 337 prospective buyers per branch.
The number of sales made to first time buyers in April increased marginally, rising from 26% in March, to 27% - year-on-year, this is an increase of three percentage points from 24%.
Mark Hayward, Chief Executive, NAEA Propertymark said:
“Despite a fall in housing supply and demand, it’s encouraging to see an increase, for the first time this year, in the number of sales going through. This means that even though buyers and sellers remain uncertain given the current climate, many are continuing to move forward with their transactions and sales are still happening at the rate we would expect to see at this time of year. More than four in five properties are selling for less than the original asking price, so there’s opportunity for house buyers and sellers to negotiate an offer to get a sale moving.”
