The number of property sales agreed in February hit a 10-year high, NAEA Propertymark has stated, to 11 per branch.
The last time this figure surpassed 10 per branch was in September 2007. In January estate agents agreed eight sales per branch, up from six in December.
With high sales levels recorded in February, 74% of the sales made were below the original asking price, which ARLA says suggests sellers are taking a pragmatic approach to their property transactions.
The proportion of sales which were agreed for first time buyers dipped to 22% in February, down from 30% in January.
Meanwhile, the number of properties available to buy on estate agents’ books increased to 44 in February. In January, there were just 38 available per branch. This figure has increased by 26% from last February when agents had just 35 properties available per branch.
During February, the number of house buyers registered per member branch remained at 425 for the second month in a row.
The report found that only 7% of estate agents expect the remedies outlined in the government’s Housing White Paper to be enough to ‘fix’ the housing market. 43% do not think will make a difference while 39% think the proposals could positively impact the market, but can’t yet tell how.
Mark Hayward, chief executive of NAEA Propertymark, said: “The number of sales agreed reaching a 10-year high indicates the housing market is moving in the right direction. However, first time buyers need to be a priority – the number of sales made to the group dipped in February when it should be growing. As house prices continue to rise, the market’s most vulnerable buyers are being priced out and the only way to address this is to increase housing stock.
“The government have pledged yet again to build more homes, but our members aren’t feeling optimistic about the plans. If promises are kept and we see construction sites set up across the UK, we’ll be in a better position in a few years than the stark reality we will be facing if this doesn’t happen.”
