Agreed house sales rise by almost 40% in February

Statistics from the UK's housing intelligence business, Hometrack, have revealed a 36% upsurge in agreed property sales last month, while new buyer registrations also increased by 17%.

The figures indicate that not only are more houses going up for sale, but sellers are increasingly finding buyers for their homes. It would appear that purchasers are eager to bag a bargain, with the average sale price now 12% below the original asking price.

The findings from Hometrack's latest survey, which analyses responses from 1,802 estate agents and surveyors, showed that February defied the decrease in the number of buyer registrations and agreed sales found in previous months.

In line with these findings, only last week the mortgage lender Nationwide confirmed that housebuilders and estate agents found a rise in the number of property enquiries made by new buyers amid the Bank of England interest rate cuts and declining house prices.

Interestingly, Hometrack's survey also uncovered regional differences across the UK, with the amount of househunters registering with estate agents in London, the South West and the South East of England up by over 20%, while the demand for homes in the North was found to be weaker.

The aforementioned areas in southern England were also found to be regions where property prices were lower. In roughly 61% of the postcode districts in the South East and 65% of those in the South West and Greater London, prices were cheaper. By comparison, there were only price falls recorded in 40% of postcode districts in the North.

Source: Times Online | Last updated: 2nd March 2009

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