25 August 2015 – The number of homes coming onto the UK property market has surged to its highest level since 2010. Nearly a quarter of a million new properties were made available between April and June, up three per cent on the same period last year.
Experian has previously highlighted the problems first time buyers experience and the difficulties families face in trading up. Its latest data also highlights the lack of affordable property on the market for first time buyers and families on stretched incomes – especially in London.
Owners of high end properties - those valued at more than £500k – put their homes up for sale in increasing numbers. Across the UK, the number of homes put up for sale in the £500k-£750k price band increased by 17 per cent, while houses valued £750k plus increased by five per cent. In central London the increase was 18 per cent in £500k to £750k properties, with a 25 per cent increase in Greater London.
However, there was a significant decline (44 per cent) in the number of new properties for sale between £100k and £250k in central London. Just shy of 2,000 properties came onto the market in this price band. It was a similar story in the Greater London region, with a decrease of 25 per cent, and a little over 1,500 newly listed properties available. Overall, the number of homes priced between £100k and £250k being put up for sale, and houses valued under £100k, saw decreases of three per cent and two per cent respectively.
Andy Wills, Data Director at Experian Consumer Information Services, comments: “As the housing squeeze continues to impact first and second time buyers, as well as growing families, putting yourself in good financial shape and having a strong credit score is vital to securing the mortgage you need. At Experian, we’re focused on helping people navigate the mortgage market by providing valuable insight and advice. We work with lenders too and encourage them to look at people’s particular circumstances and gain the best insight they can into what customers can realistically afford.”
Experian’s guides to help people through accessing credit, and provide pointers to those looking to secure a mortgage deal can be found at www.experian.co.uk/improve. Advice includes demonstrating that you can manage your finances by paying off cards and loans, and watching how much credit you apply for six months before approaching a lender for a mortgage – since a flurry of credit card applications may worry mortgage lenders.
Regionally, the North West saw the largest total number of properties come on to the market in Q2 2015 with 32,229 homes for sale – an increase of 17 per cent on Q2 2014. Homes entering the market in the Greater London region increased by eight per cent, followed by the West Midlands with six per cent more homes available.
The table below shows the percentage change from Q2 2014 to Q2 2015 in the number of properties that entered the ‘for sale’ market during this period.
|
From Q2 2014 to Q2 2015 |
>£100k |
£100k-£250k |
£250k-£500k |
£500-750k |
<£750 |
Total |
|
East Midlands |
-11.09% |
0.12% |
16.78% |
29.79% |
4.62% |
2.94% |
|
East of England |
-25.45% |
-7.25% |
21.46% |
23.88% |
20.8% |
4.63% |
|
Central London |
-11.49% |
-44.11% |
-3.74% |
17.59% |
2.2% |
3.22% |
|
North East |
-0.27% |
-3.88% |
1.04% |
-1.82% |
-19.81% |
-2.27 |
|
North West |
19.6% |
15.69% |
16.54% |
21.42% |
-1.96% |
16.57% |
|
Greater London |
-19.51% |
-25.39% |
21.45% |
25.26% |
19.28% |
8.33% |
|
Scotland |
-10.92% |
-3.21% |
-0.37% |
3.52% |
-9.89% |
-5.34% |
|
South East |
-23.71% |
-16.79% |
14.71% |
18.94% |
10.22% |
1.84% |
|
South West |
-18.84% |
-9.7% |
4.93% |
4.13% |
0.79% |
-3.81% |
|
Wales |
2.43% |
1% |
-0.53% |
3.07% |
-7.53% |
0.89% |
|
West Midlands |
-11.92% |
5.39% |
19.20% |
4.89% |
1.66% |
5.6% |
|
Yorkshire and The Humber |
2.20% |
0.07% |
11.14% |
22.88% |
9.18% |
3.14% |
|
UK |
-1.88% |
-3.09% |
10.27% |
16.53% |
5.48% |
2.65% |
For lenders interested in finding out how information about property type, value and ownership can help them understand and treat their customers more fairly, please visit www.experian.co.uk/property-data
ENDS
Notes to editors
Experian’s Quarterly Property Index sources data from a range of UK sales & letting agents.
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