Mortgage sales continue to drop throughout UK

A new report from Equifax Touchstone has left many industry leaders on edge after finding that mortgage sales dropped by 38% from November to December.

After a tumultuous year for the property industry, the final month delivered news that many within the industry would have preferred to avoid.

While December is expected to usher in fewer sales than the rest of the year, the new figures released at the end of January have indicated a drop much more devastating than expected.

Not only were the sales for December 12.8% lower than the same time the year before (over £1.4bn), but sales dropped by a massive 38% (£5.8bn) from the previous month. While certain property experts maintain that a bounce-back is expected in Q1 2018, there has, so far, been little data published to support this claim.

The greatest fall in sales appears to be within the residential sector with an average drop of almost 40% across the UK, while in similarly depressing news, the buy-to-let sector experienced a fall of 32.1%.

“After three months of consecutive growth, mortgage sales in the UK have decreased sharply across both residential and buy-to-let sectors,” said John Driscoll, Director at Equifax Touchstone.

“Traditionally, December is a slow month for sales due to the festive period and other seasonal effects. However, the level of decrease is somewhat concerning for the industry, especially when considering that mortgage sales are down £1.4 billion year-on-year.”

While the North West experienced the smallest month-to-month fall between November and December, the region still saw a 34.4% drop, and with an increasing likelihood that sales could continue to underperform throughout Q1 and Q2 of 2018, certain analysts are urging both the government and lenders alike to brace themselves for another volatile year.

Many within the industry are claiming that these falling figures are a direct result of consumer confidence with regard to the UK’s upcoming departure from the EU in 2019 which could ultimately lead a to fall in property prices, while others believe that it is simply a consequence of the interest rate hike during the Autumn Budget and the end of the Term Funding Scheme.

With media sources reporting that the beginning of 2018 could be a bad time to place a home on the market, many individuals who need to sell their house fast for a variety of reasons can not afford the luxury of waiting until the market improves. Luckily, they can always rely on companies such as National Homebuyers to provide attractive quotes to ensure a quick house sale regardless of status or location.

Need to sell your home fast? Why not ask National Homebuyers for advice, as we buy any house. Call 08000 443 911 or request a call back to find out how much you could get for your property.