House Sales Tumble In July After Stamp Duty Holiday Deadline

House sales tumbled by almost two-thirds in July after tens of thousands of homebuyers rushed to complete their purchases in order to beat the end-of-June stamp duty holiday deadline. Following a record surge in activity in June, when 213,370 UK homes changed hands, transactions slumped 62% to 82,110 in July according to official data, after the government scaled back its tax break for buyers in England and Northern Ireland. HM Revenue and Customs – which published the new data – said it showed that homebuyers were “completing property transactions earlier to take advantage of government housing market policies”. HMRC also said that following the changes to the rules, “an expected but noticeable decrease [in sales] has been observed”. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/aug/24/uk-house-sales-stamp-duty-holiday-deadline-tax-break

House Sales Up 10% As Buyers Rush To Beat Stamp Duty Deadline

 Momentum in the housing market shows no sign of slowing with housing sales 10 per cent higher than this time last year, according to the property website Zoopla. Its latest figures show the annual rate of growth in property prices reaching 4.3 per cent, the highest level seen since April 2017. The market is being driven by buyer demand, as people look to take advantage of the temporary stamp duty holiday. Zoopla says with demand continuing to outstrip supply, house prices rose by 0.3 per cent in January, with the average property now costing £226,000 according to its house price index. Read more on the Mortgage Strategy website.

https://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/news/house-sales-up-10pc-as-buyers-rush-to-beat-stamp-duty-deadline/

Over Half Of House Sales Fell Through In Q3 Amid Covid Chaos

Over half (52%) of house sales in England and Wales fell through before completion in the third quarter of 2020, as Covid uncertainty plagued the property market. The figures also show an annual fall through rate of 43%. The reasons for failed property sales tell a story of how the property market fared as the global pandemic unfolded. During the first and second quarters of 2020, the primary reason property sales fell through was that the buyer changed their mind and pulled out of the sale. This accounted for 36% of failed sales in each quarter. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/over-half-of-house-sales-fell-through-in-q3-as-covid-bites.html 

Value Of House Sales Up 26% In 2020

The total value of homes sold in 2020 will rise 26% by the end of the year compared to 2019 as the market has surged in the wake of the spring coronavirus lockdown. The latest figures from property portal Zoopla indicate the total value of 2020 house sales will top £300bn, £62bn more than last year. The firm said that with the total number of sales having only risen by 9%, the bulk of the difference came from the fact more expensive properties were being transacted, with the market strongest in the wealthiest areas. Read more on Housing Today.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/value-of-house-sales-up-26-in-2020-says-zoopla/5109639.article 

Stamp Duty Backlog Could Hit Unsuspecting Homebuyers For £1bn

With as many as 325,000 property sales agreed between September of this year and January predicted to fail to complete before next year’s stamp duty holiday deadline, many homebuyers could be hit with an unwanted surprise. This is due to the sheer volume of sales currently stuck in a market backlog, as the industry struggles to cope with the huge levels of market activity seen in recent months. New research by estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, has revealed the extent of the potential stamp duty bill for unexpecting homebuyers caught in the current market backlog. The figures show that with England accounting for 97% of transactions, 315,534 sales could be impacted. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/stamp-duty-backlog-could-hit-unsuspecting-homebuyers-for-1bn-warns-new-research.html

Housing Market Expects 100,000 Extra Home Sales In Early 2021

More than 100,000 additional house sales are expected during the first three months of 2021, as the rebound in the property market continues and buyers rush to complete their purchases before the end of the stamp duty holiday. The number of new sales being agreed remains 38% higher than it was a year ago, according to property website Zoopla. The UK housing market has rebounded since the summer because of pent-up demand following the first UK-wide lockdown, and after the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, decided in July to introduce a stamp duty holiday on properties up to £500,000 until March 2021. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/25/uk-housing-market-expects-100000-extra-home-sales-in-early-2021 

Home 'Flipping' In The UK Reaches 12-Year High

The proportion of homes in England and Wales that have been bought, renovated and sold again within a short period has hit a 12-year high, with Burnley in Lancashire topping the list of properties most commonly “flipped”. So far this year, one in every 40 homes sold were bought and sold within 12 months, according to research from estate agent Hamptons International using Land Registry data, the most since 2008. In Burnley, it was about one in 12. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, which brought the housing market to a standstill for several weeks, Hamptons predicts that about 23,000 homes will be flipped this year, up from 20,857 last year, and investors are on track to make greater profits. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/23/home-flipping-in-the-uk-reaches-12-year-high-despite-covid-crisis 

Pent-Up Demand After Covid Lockdown Fuels UK House Sales Surge

 More homes in Britain are selling within a week of being put on the market than at any time over the past 10 years, according to data from the property listing website Rightmove. Pent-up demand for moves after lockdown and a stamp duty holiday on some homes have fuelled the property market over the summer – traditionally a quiet time for sales – with activity and prices both reaching new highs. Rightmove’s analysis of more than 225,000 homes sold between 8 July, when stamp duty was cut in England and Northern Ireland, and 31 August revealed a surge in deals being agreed within a week. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/04/pent-up-demand-after-covid-lockdown-fuels-uk-house-sales-surge

British Home Sales Hit Record After Lockdown

Britons bought and sold a record number of homes between mid July and early August as pent-up demand from the coronavirus lockdown and a desire to leave London bucked the usual summer slowdown, industry data shows.  Property website Rightmove, which says it is used by 90% of British estate agents, reported the highest number of home sales agreed since it began tracking the data more than 10 years ago, with transactions more than 20% higher than the previous record. Read more on the Reuters website.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-houseprice/british-home-sales-hit-record-after-lockdown-rightmove-says-idUKKCN25C0WO

House Sales Plummeted By 50% In May

Half the number of residential properties were sold in May compared with a year ago amid coronavirus lockdown measures. A total of 46,230 property transactions were completed during the month, down 52% on the same month last year, HM Revenue and Customs data shows. There was a slight pick-up on the previous month, reflecting the lifting of housing market restrictions in England in mid-May. Estate agents say demand is now high. Figures show that buyer interest is bouncing back, as housing markets in the other parts of the UK have begun to open too. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53148678

House Prices To Rise Further Over Next Three Months

Zoopla predicts that the price strength that has been seen since the reopening of the housing market is likely to continue at least until the autumn. Another two to three per cent on average is likely to be added to prices in the coming three months, it anticipates, and if there are to be price falls they will not be noticed until the tail end of the year. New sales agreed, subject to contract, have grown the most in England where the market is open for business. The rebound in sales has been strongest in northern England led by Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester where sales are up to 20 per cent higher than in February this year, before the virus outbreak. Read more on Estate Agent Today.

https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2020/6/house-prices-to-rise-further-over-next-three-months--zoopla

Coronavirus Outbreak Will Halt 520,000 UK House Sales In 2020

More than 520,000 UK home sales will be abandoned this year, after the government ordered a temporary freeze on the housing market last month because of the coronavirus outbreak, research shows. The property consultancy Knight Frank said the 38% drop in the number of house sales in 2020 would have a ripple effect across the property industry, hitting retailers, removal companies and even government coffers. Assuming physical distancing rules stay in place throughout May but are gradually lifted in June, the property market downturn will result in 350,000 fewer mortgage approvals in England and Wales including 150,000 fewer mortgages for first-time buyers. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/20/coronavirus-outbreak-will-halt-520000-uk-house-sales-in-2020

House Sales Fall At “Fastest Ever Rate”

Estate agents’ sales expectations have fallen to their lowest ever level according to the monthly housing market survey undertaken by the RICS. The body said agents’ expectations of sales growth in the next three months had fallen to -92% - meaning 92% more surveyors thought sales would fall than would rise - a lower figure than in the depth of the financial crisis and the lowest since the metric was first recorded in 1998. New enquiries, new vendor instructions and newly agreed sales all fell to record lows. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/house-sales-fall-at-fastest-ever-rate-says-rics/5105484.article

UK House Sales Will Collapse In 2020

House sales in the UK will collapse this year as the coronavirus pandemic puts the property market into deep freeze. But prices will fall by only 3% and will rebound next year, according to global consultancy Knight Frank. In the first reassessment of the property market by one of the major forecasters, Knight Frank said the number of house sales in the UK would plummet from 1,175,000 last year to just 734,000 this year. Many of the “lost” sales will not be carried forward to next year, spelling disaster for estate agents and other firms in the property chain. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/06/house-prices-will-not-fall-far-despite-lockdown-says-study

Demand Grows For UK Housing

Sales of new homes increased for a third consecutive month across the United Kingdom, as has buyer demand and new instructions, according to the February 2020 RICS UK Residential Market Survey. The February 2020 UK Residential Market Survey revealed a net balance of +20% of respondents saw an increase in new buyer enquiries over the month, the third period of growth in a row. In addition, experts are forecasting a better sales outlook for the rest of the year, with +61% of survey participants saying they expect more homes to be sold as the year progresses. New homes coming onto the sales market also nudged up for a third straight month. Read more on the RICS website.

https://www.rics.org/uk/news-insight/latest-news/press-releases/demand-grows-for-uk-housing/

Property Sales Accelerate In A Fifth Of Towns And Cities

New analysis by home purchase plan provider, Gatehouse Bank, has revealed that despite Brexit trying its best to cause turbulence in the UK property market, homes are actually selling quicker in 1 in 5 towns and cities. According to the findings, across the UK, homes on the market have been on sale two weeks longer than a year ago on average (162 vs 148 days) but the slowdown is noticeable by its absence in 19.6% of areas. Gatehouse analysed time-on-the-market data from Home.co.uk and found that property markets sped up in 24 of the 122 towns and cities in the survey. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/property-sales-accelerate-in-a-fifth-of-towns-and-cities.html

Almost Half Of All House Sales Failed In Q4 2018

Newly released data from independent home buyer, Quick Move Now, has revealed that almost half of all house sales in England and Wales fell through before completion in the final quarter of 2018. According to the data, although the fourth quarter figure of 49.8 percent is a sharp rise from the third quarter figure of 28.3 percent, the annual fall through rate for 2018 remained steady at 30.6 percent - just one percent higher than the 2017 annual fall through rate. This shows that, although 2018 was somewhat of an uncertain year for the UK Property market, overall the number of sales falling through before completion remained fairly consistent. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/almost-half-of-all-house-sales-failed-in-q4-2018.html

Sales To First Time Buyers At A Three-Year Low

First-time buyer (FTB) sales hit the lowest level in three years according to the latest NAEA Propertymark report. The report for August shows just 20% of sales made to the group despite strong FTB sales in June and July at 29% and 30% respectively. This is the lowest figure recorded since August 2015 and its own 20%. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/sales-to-first-time-buyers-at-a-three-year-low/

Boost In Supply Improves FTB Sales

The latest data and analysis from NAEA has revealed that the number of property sales saw a 13% rise in June, breathing new life into the UK property market. According to the figures, the number of sales agreed per estate agency branch rose from eight in May to nine in June. However, this is still 18% down against the same month a year earlier when agents closed a total of 11 sales per branch. NAEA reports that the proportion of sales made to first-time buyers was up 5% hitting 29% in June – the highest amount recorded since February - as the supply of housing rose while demand dropped. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/boost-in-supply-improves-ftb-sales.html

31% Increase In Market Sale By Housing Associations

Housing associations sold 31% more homes on the open market in the last quarter than the previous one, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has said. The RSH’s quarterly survey revealed that 1,171 market sale units were sold in the period from October to December 2017, up from 897 in the quarter before. It was also a 7% increase on the same period in 2016, when 1,094 units were sold. Revenue from these sales was lower than forecast, however, standing at £700m, compared to the forecast of £834m. According to the regulator, the difference between forecast and current asset housing sales “is concentrated in a small number of providers”. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CkuFm3WnBj8J:https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/31-increase-in-market-sale-by-housing-associations-54953+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&safe=vss