Estate agents sell just one home a week on average as property market struggles

Published 14th Jun 2011

Estate agents are selling an average of only one property a week as the housing slump worsens, a report says today.

The number of homes coming on to the market has surged but the number that are selling has fallen, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Between March and May, the average estate agency managed to sell only 14.7 properties, the equivalent of just over one per week.

This is close to an all-time low, and far below the peak of 40 per agency sold every three months during the boom in 2002.

But the average number of properties for sale at each agency has jumped from 66 to 71.3 over the past month, the highest level since December 2008.

One agent, from Colchester, Essex, said: 'The market is more unpredictable than at any stage I can remember in the 28 years I have been an agent.

'There is an air of caution all round, as redundancies start to bite.'

The situation is a nightmare for anybody who urgently needs to sell their property, but cannot find a buyer even if they agree to cut the price.

There is a long list of urgent reasons why people need to sell, from needing to move for a new job to no longer being able to pay the mortgage.

The mood among estate agents is gloomy and apprehensive all over the country, except in London where prices continue to rise and buyers fight to buy the most expensive properties.

Agents said the market was 'tough', and that buyers were feeling 'nervous'. The lack of first-time buyers remains an acute problem.

An agent from Burnham Market, Norfolk, said: 'Unfortunately, buyers seem to have cooled and are becoming increasingly cautious.'

Ian Perry, from the RICS, said: 'Buyer interest in purchasing property remains flat across much of the country. And there is little sign of this changing any time soon.

'Uncertainty over the economic outlook remains as important as the availability of mortgage finance in depressing demand.'

The situation in London is very different, particularly in the more expensive areas where prices are fuelled by overseas buyers.

Savills, the upmarket estate agency, said an extraordinary £3.7billion was spent last year by foreigners on 'prime' homes in the capital.

Overall, nearly one in three prime properties sold in London last year was bought by an overseas buyer, who does not necessarily live in it permanently.

Source: ' ThisIsMoney '

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