June transactions in 6% jump from month before

June transactions jumped up by 6% from the month before, as 85,870 properties changed hands, statistics from the HMRC shows.

This still represents a 15% drop from June 2022.

Part of the monthly rise is down to the fact there are more working days in June than May.

Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops, said:

“A welcome month-on-month uptick is a promising sign and reminds us just how resilient the property market can be.

“We have entered a more sensible, fairer, reality for both buyers and sellers alike than the one we saw from the post-pandemic boom, and that many inadvertently became accustomed to.

“In order to ensure that property purchases are not unnecessarily delayed, it’s important that homes are fairly priced in line with real market standards rather than sold prices which have since moved, to avoid gazundering and chain collapses.

“When a market feels unsettled, agents must work to create a sense certainty for clients.

“Properties priced fairly will continue to attract the interest of motivated buyers who are vying for a small percentage of the most attractive homes in the best locations.

“For sellers, the summer provides a seasonal window of opportunity to prepare your house for market when it’s looking its best.

“With the school holidays now in full swing and many keen to move before the end of the year, buyers will be kick starting their summer scrolling across the portals.”

The question is whether this rebound in transactions is an exception, or a sign of things to come.

Nicholas Finn, executive director of Garrington Property Finders, said:

“It’s too early to call if this is a fluke or a fillip for the property market, but June’s jump in home sales is a welcome surprise.

“What it certainly isn’t – yet – is a complete turnaround.

“On a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of sales completed last month was 15% lower than in a typical June, and barely a third more than the level achieved during the lockdown-affected June of 2020.

“With property prices ticking down in most parts of the UK, some discretionary sellers are pausing their plans, and this is holding back the number of homes being sold.

“Nevertheless there is still a steady stream of homes coming onto the market from people who need to sell, and their pragmatic approach to pricing may be the reason for June’s uptick in completed sales.”

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said these figures reflect buyer sentiment in March, because it typically takes around three months from a sales agreement to completion.

Sarah Coles continued:

“Back then, mortgage rates had eased off significantly from the mini-budget spike, and according to Moneyfacts, the average 2-year fix was around 5.3% and the average 5-year fix around 5%.

“Rates continued to fall slowly through April – so July’s figures may look reasonably healthy too.

“However, in the months since, they’ve risen gradually and then rapidly, pushing 2-year fixed rates above 6.8% and 5-year rates over 6.3%.

“This has taken a massive toll on demand, which Zoopla figures show has fallen a fifth in the past two months.

“It means that when we get sales figures for the Autumn, we can expect some significant drops.

“It’s not all bad news though.

“In the last few days, Moneyfacts figures show that average mortgage rates have started falling, and some major lenders have started to cut their rates.

“We’re not heading back to an era of super-low rates just yet, but it’s a welcome easing for the market.

“It remains to be seen whether this is enough to halt the slide, or whether the decline in property sales is set for an encore.”

Kindly shared by Property Wire

Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay