UK property market cooling in run up to general election in May
Berkeley Square Capital have researched that almost a third of house sales in the UK are going to first time buyers but overall the market is cooling in the run up to the general election, according to estate agents.
Some 30% of total house sales in February were to people getting on the housing ladder for the first time, the highest number since September 2014, says the latest monthly survey from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).
The data also shows that 46% of NAEA members have seen a cooling in the property market as the May general election approaches and 27% think the election will have the biggest impact on the housing market this year.
Findings in February also show that demand for property is up, with 366 house hunter’s registered per NAEA member branch, up from 353 in January. With supply marginally down from 44 houses per branch last month, to 43 this month, there’s still a significantly higher demand than supply of housing, a problem that is unlikely to be solved anytime soon.