New report details the worrying state of the UK housing market

A new report has provided more evidence that the housing market is stagnant and experts within the industry believe that there is little chance of recovery in the near future.

Newly released data from HMRC has shown that house sale completions were down by 5.7% in June versus the previous year. Even more worrying is that the number of residential property transactions in June 2018 were down 3% compared with May 2018.

This news lies in contrast with the predictions made by those in parliament who, last year, believed that the housing market would begin to gain inertia by the beginning of Q3 this year as the number of new build homes began to rise.

Unfortunately, the Tory plan to build a sufficient number of new homes for the continually rising UK population has, again, failed to materialise as the country’s top house-building companies have held back the development of land earmarked for housing due to fears of the market post-Brexit.

The news itself follows closely on from another worrying report last month that found that sold house price growth was at its lowest rate for over five years.

“After a slight uptick in transactions in May, a decrease in June will be disappointing for those looking to sell their home,” said Alex Depledge, chief executive and co-founder of Resi.co.uk.

“Issues still remain as second time buyers are being hit by high stamp duty costs and are struggling to afford to move, halting growth within the market.”

These stamp duty costs, combined with high property values and various other influential factors have caused a large number of homeowners to stay-put rather than consider upsizing at a time when the economy is already struggling and would benefit from higher levels of activity within the housing market.

“For us, the number of property transactions is always a much better indicator of market strength than house prices, with recent economic and political uncertainty reflected in these lower, seasonally-adjusted numbers,” said Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman.

“We certainly would have expected higher figures bearing in mind the spring buying season is generally the best for the property market.”

While the reasons behind the fall in activity are believed to be related to the decision to leave the EU, combined with the austerity measures implemented by the Tory government, this will do little to comfort those who are hoping to sell their house fast, as it becomes increasingly hard to find a buyer.

While many vendors choose to try their luck through traditional estate agents, increasing numbers are now using the services of companies such as National Homebuyers who will buy any home, in any location, for cash in as little as two weeks.

Need to sell? 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.