Lack of confidence behind falling property sales

23 2008
The rate of house sales across the country continues to slow down as Britons shy away from making a commitment in an uncertain market, new figures from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) suggest.

While the professional body has remained relatively upbeat about market conditions over the past few months, it has now revealed that in June its members were dealing with an average of six properties.

This represents a significant downturn from the 17 they were selling on average this time last year and comes despite the fact that housing supply continues to increase as more homes become available, pointing to a reluctance for people to move out of the rental sector.

"It is clear from NAEA members that the last few months have been a difficult time for both the home buyer and seller," commented NAEA president, Chris Brown.

"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."

Just this week, a leading member of the Bank of England warned that house prices could fall by a further 30 per cent, comments unlikely to tempt many people out of the stable renting market. ADNFCR-1219-ID-18697596-ADNFCR

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