Is the housing market beginning to stabilise?
1st March 2010
A recent Home Sale Network survey carried out on Home Sale Network members, found the time taken to sell a property on the housing market appears to have reduced across England, Scotland, and Wales. The survey also indicates that house prices for the first quarter of 2010 could remain the same.
Recent survey respondents (85%) said the time taken to sell a property at the beginning of 2010 compared to the start of last year, has reduced, with 38% stating the time taken to sell has ‘significantly reduced’. When asked whether they think this reduction will continue during the first quarter of 2010 compared to Q1 of 2009, over half of respondents (59%) said it would.
When asked how stock levels will be affected during Q1 of 2010, 17% think levels will decrease by up to a quarter, however, over a third (35%) think stock levels will remain the same and 47% of respondents believe they will increase up to 25%.
Comparatively, the survey found 80% of respondents did not see a continued increase in buyer enquiries in December 2009 compared to the previous month. This might be seasonal or more likely it may suggest buyer enquiry levels are becoming more stable. When compared to respondents’ predictions that stock levels will either remain the same or increase by no more than 25%, it would appear the survey results support experts’ claims the property market is beginning to show signs of stabilising the balance between supply and demand.
Furthermore, the majority (63%) of respondents indicate house prices in their market will remain the same for the first quarter of 2010, suggesting similar findings to the fourth quarter of 2009 when property prices only slightly fluctuated month on month. Only 2% of respondents state house prices in their market will decrease in the first quarter of 2010 with over a third of survey respondents (33%) indicating property prices will increase over the next three months.
As a national network of selected, independent estate agents, Home Sale Network members assist buyers and sellers across the country, giving a good indication of new buyer enquiry trends and stock levels in England, Scotland, and Wales.
Gail Furnival from Barbers Estate Agents, the member of Home Sale Network in Shropshire said, “It is interesting to review the time taken to sell properties now when compared to the beginning of 2009. With the majority of respondents predicting stock levels will increase in the first quarter of this year and house prices predicted to remain broadly the same, it appears 2010 could see a positive market ahead.”
For further information, please contact Gail Furnival, Barbers Estate Agents on 01630 653641 or email g.furnival@barbers-online.co.uk
