Several UK property portals are using data from their websites to argue that property market activity is increasing.
propertyindex.com has reported a high level of activity, with the number of property enquiries rising steadily over the past four months, increasing by 15% between April and July.
As such, the UK property portal argues that the property market is unlikely to experience its usual seasonal drop-off in activity this Northern summer, due to more affordable property prices, good mortgage deals and more people opting to spend their holidays in the UK.
propertyindex.com says June and July market activity shows many people are taking advantage of the opportunities available in the housing market:
“Low and stabilising prices, coupled with good mortgage deals are encouraging home moves and first time buyers back onto the market. Vendors are keen to sell now while demand is high and miss out on further price falls that may occur if an increase in stock closes the gap between supply and demand.”
Lee Bramzell, CEO of propertyindex.com, said:
“We would usually see a summer slowdown in housing market activity as people jet off on their holidays and put their move on hold, but this year has been very busy so far, with both searches and direct enquiries for properties on our site surging between January and March and then increasing steadily into July. Based on this trend, we are expecting a similar level of activity in August.”
The findings are similar at market leader rightmove.co.uk who released a statement last week saying it had recorded its busiest ever week, with 134 million pages viewed during the week ending July 11th. The record week was also followed up on Tuesday July 22nd by the highest number of pages viewed on a single day for rightmove.co.uk since 17th March 2008.
In the statement rightmove.co.uk says:
“The combination of improving buyer sentiment and lack of fresh housing stock coming onto the market is driving the record traffic numbers, which were even more notable given that previous highs have traditionally been recorded in the Spring home moving period rather than the Summer holiday season. All of which will add further weight to the view that the UK property market is starting to recover.”
Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove added:
“With more confidence that we’ve seen prices bottom out there are more buyers around. They’re finding there’s a shortage of property in popular areas and some of the best bargains have gone, so they’re visiting Rightmove more often to find the latest best deals. Those that can get mortgages in the current climate are more affluent so want to buy in the better areas, which in turn exacerbates and concentrates the supply shortages”.
rightmove.co.uk also quote the latest figures from the British Bankers’ Association, which show that the increased search activity is resulting in greater mortgage approval volumes, albeit recovering from record lows.
Despite the good news being sprouted by UK portals, not everyone is as convinced. An article in last week’s Telegraph says that although there are some grounds for optimism, to claim the UK property market is in recovery is to take a rose-tinted view of the housing market.
Advertising Partner
-->
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Not sure if increases in page views equates to the recovery of the housing market!
People might be looking but are they actually buying?
{ 1 trackback }