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Buy To Let

New buyers flock to market

Adam Williams
Written By:
Adam Williams
Posted:
Updated:
28/08/2015

Estate agent chain Haart has seen an increase in new buyer registrations, with many of these people eager to buy a property soon.

The number of buyers looking for properties increased 5.3% in the last month and is now 4.1% higher than a year ago, Haart said.

With interest rate rises on the horizon, many people are looking to move home and seal a new mortgage before the market changes.

However, housing supply is still not able to keep up with this demand. While there are 3.1% more properties on the market than last month, supply has declined by a fifth in the last 12 months.

An estimated 12 buyers are now chasing every property that comes onto the market.

This supply problem has caused prices to rise 6.4% in the last 12 months to reach £217,072. Prices for typical first-time buyer properties have risen even faster, growing by 7.7% to an average of £167,794.

North London was the most expensive place to buy, but the North West of England saw the greatest price increases in the last year.

Paul Smith, CEO of haart, said there were many economic factors influencing the market today.

“We saw a surge in activity when Mark Carney announced that an interest rate rise was on the cards as people looked to take advantage of some of the lowest mortgage rates on record and fix at this level before they increased,” he said.

“Now the economic landscape has changed following the market slowdown in China we expect greater calm on the demand side, but true balance will not be achieved until more homes start to come onto the market.

“Registrations in the UK are up 5.3% in the last month alone. However, supply has not kept apace; although we have seen instructions rise by 1.4% in July, supply has actually fallen by 15% annually and in London supply is down by a fifth compared to last year.”

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