Member Article

House sales increase in Yorkshire in December

The number of house sales in Yorkshire and Humber increased for the third consecutive month during December, whilst the number of potential new buyers in the region also rose, according to the latest RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) Residential Market Survey.

Across the region, 16 per cent more surveyors saw house sales increase (up from 2 percent in November), with 13 per cent more surveyors reporting increased buyer demand (up from 11 percent in November).

Comparatively, house sales in London declined for the last nine months, whilst buyer demand in the region has decreased for the eighth consecutive month.

Despite optimism that the Stamp Duty reforms will deliver a nationwide 2-5% boost in sales and prices over the next twelve months, chartered surveyors in London expect sales to decrease by between 5-10% and prices to decrease by 2-5%, with larger properties and/or those in prime areas expected to see the biggest decreases.

Over the next three months, only 26 per cent more members in Yorkshire and Humber expect sales to increase, compared with 30 per cent in November. This is most likely due to constrained financial conditions and restricted supply, with surveyors in the region reporting a decrease in the number of properties on their books (69 in December, compared to 75 in November) for the fifth consecutive month.

Furthermore, just 12 per cent of surveyors in the region saw prices rise in December rather than fall, however the average number of sales per surveyor over the last three months (Oct-Dec) reached 24 – a slight rise on the same time of year in 2013 (Oct-Dec 2013).

In the month that also saw mortgage approvals fall to their lowest in 18 months, December’s data showed that perceived Loan to Value (LtV) ratios across properties for first-time buyers and existing home owners remained stable at 84.9% and 77.6%, although they are lower compared with the early part of 2014 following the adoption of a more cautious approach to lending as a result of the introduction of the recommendations of the Mortgage Market Review (MMR).

Andrew Turner MRICS, of Smiths Gore in York, commented: “We start the year with so many conflicting factors making predictions very difficult. On the plus side, we have the Stamp Duty reform, countered by the uncertainties of the election, London running out of steam, and desperate problems in the Eurozone.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .