Property sales hit record low

15 July 2008

Property market slowest since records began 30 years ago

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), the number of property transactions is at its lowest level since Rics began its records 30 years ago.

Rics reported, in its monthly snapshot released today, that property prices continued to decrease during June, but the drop occurred at a slightly slower rate than seen in the previous two months. During the course of the past three months, the survey showed that each surveyor had made 15.3 sales on average. This is the lowest figure the survey has seen since the survey started in 1978.

The group also reported that 88% more surveyors reported a decrease in house prices instead of an increase but this was still lower than the percentage of surveyors reporting falls in May (92.2%) and April (94.2%).

Jeremy Leaf, a spokesman for Rics, said: “With demand so low, would-be buyers are negotiating from a position of strength.

“Even in a weak market, there are always opportunities for investors and buyers to profit and some are starting to circle for bargains.

“However, transaction levels remain incredibly low with many buyers cut out of the process by tight lending conditions,” he added.