News

The Agency Express Property Activity Index 2009 results show that the UK housing market is in modest recovery with the number of houses ‘Sold’ in 2009 rising 7.1% on the number ‘Sold’ in 2008. 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.

For further information or to arrange an interview please contact:
Rob Davies on 01603 305822 or 07709 366310 or rob@oooc.co.uk
Carl West on 01603 305811 or carl@kiss-marketing.co.uk

Agency Express was formed in 1998 specifically to provide a nationwide 'For Sale' board erection and management service for corporate and independent estate agencies via a network of franchisees. Today, Agency Express is the UK's largest 'For Sale' board company with one in four boards being erected and serviced by our franchisees.

'For Sale' boards can be seen on virtually every street in the UK and every one of these boards needs to be erected, changed to display 'Sold' and, finally, be removed at a time agreed with the agency when the sale has been completed. In short, a multi million pound business, the results of which give a very visible indication of the condition of the UK residential property market.

• The UK’s only truly nationwide estate agency ‘For Sale’ board company
• 18 out of the top 20 estate agency chains use Agency Express
• On-line management system provides estate agencies with total control over their board assets
• Full members of the British Franchise Association
• Carrying out up to 4,000 board movements every working day