The period between December 2016 and January 2017 saw minimal change in new buyer enquiries and transaction volumes according to recent data.
The residential market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors also indictated thatthe sales market remained flat, lacking momentum.
The number of completed house sales can also be analysed by using the most recent statistics from Land Registry. Across both England and Wales, a decline in house sales can be observed when looking at the number which took place in November 2016 and those which occurred during the corresponding period in 2015.
In England, completed house sales during November 2016 came to a total of 62,482 in comparison to 2015’s figure of 79,243. This equates to a decline of 21.2%.
Total house sales in London dropped by 34.8% to 6,394. During November 2015, this figure reached 9,806.
The number of completed house sales in Wales during November 2016 reached 3,582. This is 12.2% lower than 2015’s total of 4,082.
In England during November 2016, repossession sales totalled 652, whilst in Wales the figure stood at 58.
In regards to house prices, the UK January House Price Index (HPI) data indicates an annual growth of 6.2%, bringing the average UK property value to £218,255.
Within England, the data also shows that annually speaking, prices have grown by 6.5%. This takes the average value of property to £234,794. Compared to December 2016, this is an increase of 0.7%. London has seen house prices rise yearly by 7.3%, meaning the average property value is £490,718.
For Wales, the annual increase in prices was 4.2% according to the HPI data, bringing the average property price to £145,933.
