Property Demand Increases while Property Prices continue to drop

New research by The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) this week has indicated that the number of people looking to move house increased during the month of November, however the number of vendors registering with an estate agent to sell a property fell during this time.

According to the (NAEA), the average estate agency branch in the UK had 241 house-hunters on its books during November, up from 218 in October.

In comparison the number of vendors putting their homes on the market fell for the second consecutive month. It is now thought that the average branch currently has 64 properties on their books.
The NAEA believe both the traditional winter slow down and weather conditions as well as a general lack of realism by sellers refusing to reduce their property price has and will continue to have an effect on the market.  It is though that more and more vendors are hoping that property prices increase during 2011.

The number of sales agreed per estate agency branch remained unchanged for the fourth consecutive month in November, with estate agents selling an average of 7 properties per branch. However the percentage of first time buyer sales fell from 23% in October to 19% in November 2010.
The President of the NAEA, Michael Jones, said: "There is still clear evidence of demand for property in the UK housing market. In fact, given the restrictions on mortgage lending and the approach of Christmas, the true level of demand is probably higher than indicated by our figures.

"These are not window-shoppers. Our agents are continuing to make sales and it is particularly pleasing to see sales figures remain constant at this time of the year,”