Evidence grows of weaker homebuyer demand

Evidence of falling homebuyer demand is growing ahead of the Budget later this month. The latest sales data from EXP UK has revealed that demand in England slipped by 1.6% in the three months from July to September. The analysis found that just five counties managed positive growth during the quarter, suggesting that buyers may be holding back. Weakened Only last week the latest RICS survey reported that the net balance of new buyer enquiries fell -22% in September, from -18% in August, marking the first month since March where the indicator weakened. The latest figures from EXP show that overall sales demand stood at 39.8%, down 1.6% compared to the second quarter, and an annual drop of 3.8%. It also follows a previous quarterly drop of 1.1% between the first quarter and second quarter. There’s certainly an element of buyers adopting a wait-and-see approach.” Adam Day, Head of EXP UK and Europe (pictured), says: “There’s certainly an element of buyers adopting a wait-and-see approach ahead of the Autumn Budget, but the widespread decline in demand suggests that this isn’t the only factor at play. “Affordability remains a challenge for many buyers and, while there is still a healthy level of activity across much of the market, it’s clear that some households need greater confidence before committing to a purchase. Encouraging news “The encouraging news is that the Government appears set to make the property market a key focus of the upcoming Budget, and this presents a real opportunity to inject some much-needed momentum into the sector.” Demand on the Isle of Wight grew by 2.4% to sit at 28.4%, while the City of London by 2.3%, Rutland by 1.8%, Oxfordshire by 0.3%, and Dorset by 0.2% also recorded quarterly rises. Meanwhile, the biggest quarterly drops were recorded in Warwickshire 3.6%, Bristol by 3.5%, Kent by 2.8%, Leicestershire by 2.7%, Berkshire by 2.5%, and West Midlands County by 2.5%.