House sales keep conveyancers busy in record-breaking month Wednesday 11th September 2013 The UK’s largest conveyancer has reported a record August, completing 3,938 cases in the 22 working days. It was not just a record August but a record for the most transactions ever completed in a single month by myhomemove. In August 2012, the firm– through its brand Premium Property Lawyers – completed 2,910 cases, itself a record. Doug Crawford, CEO of myhomemove, said: “August has proved a phenomenal month for myhomemove, allowing us to break our own internal records and exceed everyone’s expectations. “This outcome is a combination of the improving housing market, thanks in part to the Government’s Help to Buy and Funding for Lending schemes, and myhomemove’s ability to handle large case volumes.” The company, which began trading in 2002, has grown significantly over the past few years. Last year it handled almost 30,000 conveyancing cases, including remortgaging. Over the next three years, myhomemove aims to treble its conveyancing volumes to complete around 100,000 cases a year. Meanwhile, further signs of a housing market recovery have been reported by the NAEA and RICS, although both offer somewhat conflicting opinions. The RICS says that rising prices and high buyer demand have led to “significant” increases in homes coming on to the market. However, the NAEA says there has been a fall in new instructions. In its August RICS survey, 26% more surveyors reported increases, not decreases, in new instructions. However, although supply did jump considerably last month, the RICS said it did not rise enough to keep pace with the sheer weight of demand. During August, the number of would-be buyers increased yet again. Surveyors also reported widespread price increases. Peter Bolton King, RICS global residential director, said: “It’s not surprising that more and more people are looking to sell their homes. The buyers are out there and prices are on the up, so if you’re looking to move it’s a good time to do so. “What we don’t wish to see, however, is prices rise to such an extent that they become unaffordable. For the market to work properly, it’s vital that property is both accessible and affordable, and we’ll be monitoring the situation very carefully as the housing sector continues to recover.” The NAEA said that the number of properties listed per branch dipped from 53 in July to 52 in August, while applicants were up by almost a third, and there was a slight increase in the number of sales agreed. According to the NAEA, 26% of sales last month were to first-time buyers. Jan Hӱtch, president of the NAEA, said: “The drop in the supply of houses to the market suggests that with the improved conditions, sellers are holding on to their properties for longer in the hope of a higher sale value as demand picks up.” According to the Halifax, August house prices stood at an average £170,231. The figure was 5.4% higher than August last year when they stood at £160,292, and 0.4% up on July. August was the seventh consecutive month where the Halifax reported a rise in house prices. Economist Martin Ellis said: “Economic improvement and low interest rtes, supported by official schemes such as Funding for Lending and Help to Buy, appear to have boosted housing demand in recent months. “Nonetheless, relatively modest economic growth and below inflation rises in earnings are likely to act as a brake on the market. “Overall, house prices are expected to rise gradually over the remainder of the year.”
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 09:44:12 +0000
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