This is compared with the 47.4% fall witnessed in 2008. Although this year’s activity is encouraging, house sales in 2009 are still 43.7% down on 2007 levels.
The North East was the region that saw the greatest growth in 2009 with house sales up 19.0% on 2008. It was closely followed by Central England that had 16.9% growth and East Anglia and the North West which both saw increases of 15.5%.
Only three regions weren’t able to report a rise in 2009 house sales – these were the South East which declined by 13.0%, the East Midlands that fell 22.3% and Scotland that performed worst with a huge 32.3% drop.
There were two cities that experienced treble digit growth in the number of houses ‘Sold’ in 2009. These ‘hot spots’ were Carlisle with a 118.2% increase and York which saw 113.3% growth. Five cities failed to record improvements on their 2008 house sales levels.
They were Manchester down 21.5%, Nottingham down 28.9%, Glasgow down 32.6%, Edinburgh down 39.9% and, at the bottom of the pile, Southampton down 79.8%.
Commenting on the Index results for 2009, Stephen Watson, Managing Director, Agency Express, said:
“We have had some encouraging news this year with the numbers of houses being ‘Sold’ increasing and being on a general upward trend. However, the overall increase in UK house sales for 2009 confirms that we have moved a considerable distance from the bottom of the market and can start to look forward to 2010 which promises more sales activity for homeowners.
"It’s interesting to note that much of the growth has come from the provincial regions and cities rather than the large metropolitan areas. And, there are still certain parts of the country where house sales are still in the doldrums such as Scotland, the East Midlands and the South East.”
One of the key determinants of the health of the housing market is the supply of properties on the market. The Index found that the number of properties that were put up ‘For Sale’ in 2009 was down 31.1% on 2008 and 44.6% lower than the levels seen in 2007 which indicates that homeowners still need more confidence in the economic prospects to put their homes on the market.
All UK regions experienced a decrease in the number of houses put up ‘For Sale’ in 2009, with Carlisle (86.4%) and York (11.5%) being the only cities to see an uplift.
