Property sales down 45%
Updated on 22 July 2008
The number of homes changing hands has nearly halved during the past year, figures show.
Just 77,000 homes costing more than £40,000 were sold during June, 45 per cent fewer than during the same month of 2007, according to HM Revenue & Customs.
Property transactions fell by 15 per cent in June to reach the lowest level since modern records began in 2005.
Research carried out by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) suggests the number of homes changing hands looks set to fall further.
The group said the number of potential buyers agents had on their books fell to an average of just 226 during June, well down on the 322 house hunters who were registered this time last year.
The number of sales agreed by estate agents during June slumped to an average of six, down from seven during each of the previous three months, while the number of properties on agents' books also fell to an average of 94, compared with 97 in May.
There was a slight increase in the proportion of homes bought by first-time buyers, with purchases by people taking their first step on to the property ladder accounting for 11.8 per cent of the total, compared with 10.6 per cent in May.
Chris Brown, president of the NAEA, said: "Consumer confidence is still low and this can be attributed to various economic factors including the continuing rising costs of living, the credit crunch and, of course, the shackles around the mortgage market."
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