The property services group’s interim statement for the third quarter, shows the company has now arranged 51,485 mortgages in the year-to-date, up 21% on last year.
It said: “We continue to derive benefits from our strong relationships with our leading financial services partners.
“Countrywide was selected by HSBC as its first partner for mortgage lending, thereby adding significant value to our customers by giving them access to HSBC market leading products as part of our lending proposition.”
Countrywide has also said it is starting to see a rebalancing of price expectations between buyers and sellers in prime and central London.
In its Q3 statement, Countrywide indicated that although this may impact on short-term volume trends it will be helpful to the market over the medium to long term.
Countrywide said: “Q3 2014 has seen further new property coming to the market and our stock available for sale is almost at record levels. This new stock is priced at a lower level than would have been the case had the property come to market at the beginning of 2014.
“In addition, we have been managing the existing stock of available property and obtaining price reductions ensuring that pricing matches buyer sentiment and demand as well as comparable lower priced property now coming to the market.”
Countrywide’s experience matches September’s national figures from the National Association of Estate Agents.
Its September Housing Market report said: “Despite high volumes of house hunters, the majority of houses are being sold for under the seller’s original asking price.
“Only 4% of properties sold in September were sold for more than the original asking price, and a stark 82% were sold for less than asking price – 16% more than in July, when this was last reported on. “
