The number of prospective buyers rose by 37 per cent from 316 to 433 in August, coinciding with an increase in the supply of available housing.
According to NAEA Propertymark’s August Housing Report, this is up from last year August’s figure of 320 house hunters per branch among the association’s registered estate agents.
Compared with last year’s figure of 40, the number of properties available with each estate agent branch was recorded at 44. This is also up from July’s figure of 41.
However, the number of sales agreed remained at nine per member branch for the fourth month running.
The number of sales made to first-time buyers stayed the same in August, at 26 per cent. Year-on-year, this was an increase of six percentage points from August 2018 when it stood at 20 per cent.
Mark Hayward (pictured), chief executive of NAEA Propertymark, said: “The summer months can often result in the market quietening down as families stop for their holidays, but our data has shown demand continually increasing over the warmer period and the number of sales agreed remaining high for the fourth month in a row.
“The ongoing Brexit uncertainty is unsettling, but we are seeing prospective buyers are returning to the marketplace as they realise that they can’t keep putting life on hold indefinitely.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS