Lowest House Sale Rate on Record

Estate agents are reporting they are selling less homes than at any point since current records began, back in 1978, according to a report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

House prices are also showing the biggest falls since RICS started recording them, 30 years ago, making the current crisis worse than the property crash of the '90s, at least on paper.

82% of the 282 estate agents that took part in the RICS poll recorded falling house prices over the last 3 months. Between February and April they sold on average just 18.3 properties, with one reporting sales down by 60%. Even Scotish House Prices recorded a drop last month, meaning that all regions of Britain are now experiencing price falls. The worst hit area is the East Midlands, having suffered 16 straight months of decline.

It has also been noted that the number of buyers registering an interest to buy with estate agents is also down and has been sliding for 2 years. Estate agents blame mortgage difficulties, saying that buyers looking for "perfectly normal loans" are being rejected.

Housing Market Is Only Half Of What It Was

The National Association of Estate Agents has reported that its members sales have reduced from an average of 14 to 7 in March, compared to last year. The Bank of England has also claimed that the number of people pulling out of house purchases as they are unable to secure the necessary loans has jumped.

Housing Market Slumps

Estate agents are reporting the lowest number of potential purchasers for 20 years. The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) reported the number of house buyers down from an average of 276 per agent in January to 243 in February 2008 – the lowest figure since 1989/1990.

The number of houses for sale and the number of first time buyers is also down, as the difference between advertised prices and house selling prices widened.