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Property exchanges ‘holding up’ but listings falling ‒ TwentyCI
Around 966,000 property exchanges took place in the 12 months to September, the latest property and homemover report from TwentyCI has revealed.
That figure was up by 2.2 per cent on the same period last year, a sign that the market is “holding up” according to the firm.
It said: “While this small increase illustrates a slow-moving market, it also shows continuation of sustained marketplace activity.”
However, new listings over the same period dropped by 1.7 per cent, with the firm pointing to homeowner wariness about putting a property on the market before Brexit has taken place.
It also suggested that murmurings of government changes to stamp duty may have contributed to their unease.
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Buying and selling
The report found that households with income bands of £20,000 to £50,000 were buying and selling more properties proportionally than other income bands, which TwentyCi suggested was likely in part down to government schemes like Help to Buy.
Meanwhile properties valued at £300,000 or less were those which sold best in the third quarter.
The firm said: “In the same way that more properties are exchanging from lower income household bands, properties that match this price bracket in terms of affordability are also those exchanging best.”
Regional differences on asking prices
On asking prices, TwentyCi noted that while the North and the Midlands had seen increases, London and the South were seeing asking prices drop.
It said: “In previous reports we have seen growth in average asking prices for properties in the South of the UK. It is likely that homes in this part of the country have seen average asking prices stabilise following their earlier peak, the latter of which is now being felt in the North.”
It also noted most major cities had seen house price increases apart from London, Southampton and Birmingham, which fell by three per cent, three per cent and one per cent respectively.
Online agents
The TwentyCi also report found that market share held by online estate agents stood at 7.9 per cent, a slight improvement from the 7.3 per cent registered last time out.
Some regions have been particularly welcoming of online agents though ‒ in Yorkshire and the Humber the market share stands at 12.05 per cent, followed by the West Midlands (10.93 per cent) and the East Midlands (10.77 per cent).