Estate agents sell most homes for 18 months

NAEA figures show an increase in homes sold in April

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Confused about the state of the property market? Well, it seems that even the experts are. Reports last week suggested house prices were falling but some experts disagree. Kate Saines investigates.
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Monday, May 18, 2009 10:08 AM

More homes were sold by estate agents in April than in any other month for the last year and a half.

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) revealed the average estate agent sold ten properties in April, the greatest number since October 2007.

Figures also out from Globrix today highlight a possible reason for the increase in sales, as they found more sellers were returning to the market, with 100,000 new properties advertised in April.

The NAEA figures were up from just eight properties sold per estate agent in March, and doubled from the low point of five per estate agent seen in August 2008.

Chief executive of the NAEA, Peter Bolton King, said: “What we are beginning to see now are consistent positive indicators that have held firm or improved since the beginning of the year.

“These figures show that this confidence is returning.”

In the figures from Globrix, Leamington Spa and Warwick were at the top of the list for the greatest percentage increase of new properties on the market from March to April, with Bristol and Birmingham also making the top 20.

The property search engine attributed the increased number of sellers to buyer confidence having a knock on effect to the rest of the market.

Daniel Lee, chief executive of Globrix, said: “It would be foolhardy to start believing we’re at the bottom of the property slump simply because buyers and sellers are returning to the market. There are still likely to be rough waters ahead given the turbulent economic climate, particularly if interest rates start to rise rapidly.

“There is no doubt that this increase in buyer activity has had a knock-on effect with sellers, many of whom had taken their properties off the market in the past six months because they were resigned to the fact that there was little hope of finding a buyer. Now that sellers believe the buyers are out there, they are returning in their droves.”