"Sentiment alone won’t turn the tide and it’s agents in England who face the toughest task when it comes to driving the market back to full health."
- Adam Day, Head of eXp UK
Analysing the latest HM Revenue & Customs’ property transactions in the UK data, eXpUK said “The impact of a cooling property market is clear to see, with transaction levels falling across the UK by -17.8% over the last year." With just over 1mn transactions completed, this is the lowest level in the last decade.
Although England has always accounted for the majority of market activity, making up 84-86% of UK transactions each year, it has also experienced the most pronounced slowdown as the market has cooled.
Over the last twelve months, 840,360 transactions took place across England – this is the fourth time this figure has slipped below 1mn transactions in the last decade. It also marked an 18.7% year-on-year reduction, confirming that estate agents in England will face the toughest uphill battle when it comes to driving the property market forward.
Wales also saw a considerable reduction in transaction volumes, decreasing by 18% year-on-year, while Northern Ireland (NI) saw a 13.9% reduction. Scotland, on the other hand, fared best in cooling market conditions, with transaction volumes falling by just 9.5% annually.
“Over the last 2+ years, we’ve seen 14 consecutive interest rate hikes pile further financial pressure on UK homebuyers, and this has had an undeniable impact on property market activity,” said Adam Day, Head of eXp UK.
He said: “This impact has been felt to greater extents across some home nations versus others, however, agents across the UK have faced a far tougher time of late when it comes to the volume of sales that are reaching completion.”
“The good news is that this year we’ve seen strong signs that the market is starting to find its feet. Of course, sentiment alone won’t turn the tide and it’s agents in England who face the toughest task when it comes to driving the market back to full health,” Adam concluded.
