Housing demand falls to six month low: NAEA

The number of house hunters registered per estate agent branch fell by 8% from 381 in April to 350 in May which the NAEA described as 'unsurprising' due to uncertainty ahead of the General Election.

As demand fell, the number of properties available to buy rose by 11% to 40 per branch. As a result, the number of sales agreed per branch increased from eight in April to 10 in May.

Demand from prospective buyers also remains 15% higher than in May 2016, when 304 house hunters were registered per branch.

Mark Hayward, Chief Executive of NAEA Propertymark, said: “As a rule of thumb, periods of political uncertainty impact the way buyers and sellers interact with the housing market. In May, it looks like new buyers were stalling their house search until after the election; however the number of sales agreed per branch increased meaning the political landscape hasn’t deterred all house hunters. Following the result of the general election, it will be interesting to see how the market reacts over the coming months as summer is peak house-moving season.”