Property interest up but sales down

A DROP in property asking prices and cuts in interest rates generated an increase in house sale enquiries in Yorkshire in November, according to the latest housing market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Buyer interest rose for the first time in more than two years in the region, from -9% in the previous month to 25%.

However, the average number of transactions per surveyor in the region fell again last month as a lack of mortgage finance continued to stifle the ability of buyers to access the market, the survey found.

The balance of new instructions across the region increased by 37%, with the balance rising from -28% to a positive 9%.
 
David Whittaker, a RICS spokesman for Yorkshire and the Humber, based in Leeds, said: “The lower levels of transactions in the region can be explained by the current weakness in the local economy, with the threat of job losses discouraging many people to move at the moment.

“However, the recent interest rate cuts have created an improved sentiment, which although only temporary, has led to a significant uplift in enquiries and instructions.
 
“The continuing starvation of mortgage finance and falling house prices means that for those able to buy in the current climate, there are bargains out there.”

The balance of surveyors in the region reporting house price falls fell back slightly in November with 87% more chartered surveyors indicating a fall than rise in house prices, a decrease from 88% in October and 92% in September.
 
Meanwhile, the number of transactions slipped further as lenders continued to keep a tight grip on finance. Across the UK the average number of transactions per agency over the last three months is now at 10.6, the lowest figure since the survey began in 1978.

In Yorkshire and the Humber the picture was slightly more positive with the average number of transactions per surveyor dropping from 15 to 14, which was still well above the national average.
 
National RICS spokesman Jeremy Leaf added: “Many are starting to see the current market as an opportunity to purchase a previously unaffordable property despite the worsening economic picture.

“But, unless people feel relatively confident about their job prospects, they’re unlikely to even try to obtain mortgage finance unless of course trading down or seeking to release capital.

“Vendors still have to accept the inevitable fact that house prices are falling and re-price their property to suit current market conditions.”