Hint of 'stability' in homes market

The number of people looking to buy a home slumped to a record low during July but estate agents reported seeing signs that the current downturn is levelling out.

Estate agents said they had an average of just 192 househunters on their books during the month, a steep drop from 226 during June, and the lowest level since figures began in May 2003, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

The group said the fall could be attributed in part to the holiday season, although it added that it also indicated consumers continued to lack confidence in the market and were adopting a 'wait and see' approach.

At the same time, the number of homes estate agents had on their books increased slightly during the month to 95, compared with 94 in June, and more than double the 45 for July last year, which is likely to be due to homes taking longer to sell.

Sales levels remained subdued, with estate agents reporting selling an average of six properties during the month, compared with 10 in July 2007.

But despite the gloomy figures, the NAEA said there were signs that the downturn was levelling out, with the survey showing stability in the number of viewings needed before a property sold, the length of time homes took to sell, and the number of sales falling through.

Just over one in 10 agreed sales are currently falling through, although estate agents in some areas are reporting failure rates of 25%.

Homes are now taking an average of 13 viewings and nearly 14 weeks to sell, the group said.

The figures come as estate agent Savills warned that it would take eight years for house prices in some areas of the country to bounce back to their pre-slump levels, although it added that other regions could recover by 2012.

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