After a long summer of uncertainty following the Brexit vote, data is finally dribbling in. While some of it strikes a brighter note, messages emerging from the stats are mixed. Serious sellers, especially in the prime markets, must remain realistic and flexible with pricing if they want to do a deal.
Latest numbers from the Halifax showed that annual house price growth has eased to 6.9 per cent following a very slight drop of 0.2 per cent in August. This contrasts with last week’s more upbeat numbers from the Nationwide building society which revealed a pick-up in house prices in August, suggesting some resilience in the market.
Neither paint the full picture. Behind the headline figures lies a softening of activity with a reduction in buyer demand as well as a decline in the number of homes coming to market.
Evidence of a slower market also comes from Bank of England data revealing that the number of mortgages approved for house purchase hit an 18-month low in July.
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