The number of sales to first-time buyers is on the decline, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) warns in its Housing Market Report for the month of March 2015.
The proportion of properties sold to people buying their first home last month was only 22 per cent, down from 30 per cent in February.
NAEA members are concerned about the growing gap between supply and demand. Nearly a third (31 per cent) of them do not believe that any of the policies proposed by the main parties ahead of the General Election will be enough to solve the housing crisis.
Less than half (48 per cent) of them favoured the Conservatives’ pledge to build 200,000 new starter homes, arguing that this initiative will be the most beneficial for the first-time buyer housing market.
Only 6 per cent back Labour’s promises to boost house building rates to 200,000 a year by 2020.
Demand on the housing market dropped to its lowest level in a year, the NAEA’s report shows.
Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of NAEA members have reported a slowdown in business in the run-up to the General Election.
The estate agents have registered only 343 house hunters per branch which was the lowest number recorded since March last year and well below the peak of 406 property enquiries per branch in September 2014. The drop on February (366) was also considerable.
Despite the drop in March demand still hugely outstrips supply, so there is no real impact on the number of sales. March saw an increase in the amount of sales agreed per branch, with 10 sales going through, compared to eight in February.
Mark Hayward, managing director, National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) commented: “We would always expect to see an event as monumental as a General Election having an impact on the property market. But what makes this election so interesting is that no one knows what the result will be. And with housing policies featuring so prominently in all three main parties’ manifestos, buyers in particular are holding off to see what will happen. The outcome of the election will impact first, second, third and last time buyers.”
