News

The decrease in house sales in April followed two consecutive monthly rises in the number of houses ‘Sold’ but monthly sales are still up 1.7% on April last year and 11.5% higher than April 2009.

Wales led the way in property sales with the number of houses ‘Sold’ being up 6.5%. Only four other regions saw sales increases – the South East had a rise of 5.2%, the South West was up 5.1%, East Anglia saw growth of 3.4% and the West Midlands improved by 0.8%. Two regions saw significant declines – Yorkshire down -22.5% and the North West down -40.9%.

Three cities experienced double digit increases in monthly house sales. Cambridge topped the table with a rise of 26.3% followed by Exeter up 25.5% and Birmingham up 25.4%. For the second consecutive month, Norwich saw the largest decline in monthly house sales with a dramatic fall of -40.3%.

The decrease in the number of new ‘For Sale’ instructions in April followed three consecutive monthly rises but current levels are still 5.1% better that April last year and 79.0% higher than April 2009.

Only three regions saw improvements in new ‘For Sale’ listings. East Anglia saw a rise of 13.5% followed by Wales at 9.6% and Central England at 0.4%. Greater London experienced the greatest decline with a drop of -21.3%.

Four cities experienced double digit increases in the number of new ‘For Sale’ instructions in April. Cambridge topped the table with a rise of 49.2% followed by Coventry up 35.3%, Leeds up 24.6% and Southampton up 12.8%. York (-24.2%) and Norwich (-24.6%) had the most significant declines.

Commenting on the latest Index results, Stephen Watson, Managing Director, Agency Express, said: “Whilst housing activity has been marginally lower in April than in March, this is not unusual. In fact, since the Index began, we have consistently seen a drop in house sales in April. The slowdown in activity is most likely to have been affected by the Easter holidays, bank holidays and RoyalWedding being so close together that people have taken the opportunity to go away on holiday or simply put their plans on hold, but it’s encouraging to note that activity levels are still higher than they were in both April 2009 and 2010. With interest rates remaining low for the at least the short term and the UK avoiding a double-dip recession we can expect the housing market to pick up again in May as further confidence returns.”