Housing market beats seasonal slump

September saw a recovery in the housing market as the number of properties sold and the number of buyers registered with estate agents rose following the August seasonal slowdown.

According to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the housing market has bounced back well after the summer slump, when there is less movement in the market as potential buyers are on holiday.

It attributed the stability of the market to its success at the beginning of the year, but warned that it would not necessarily continue without help from the Government.

The NAEA called on the Government to extend the current stamp duty holiday, where people buying a property worth between £125,000 and £175,000 are exempt from paying the tax until the end of this year.

NAEA President Gary Smith said: "The state of the market in September should be a real source of optimism.

"The NAEA predicted that the first positive indicators were strong enough to survive a seasonal dip and we are thankful to have been proved correct. But more needs to be done before we can enter the second phase."

The group's figures showed that the average number of househunters registered with estate agents rose to 294 during September, after falling to 238 in August.

There was also a slight increase in the average number of sales agreed per branch, rising from 7.6 to 8.5.

But the number of properties agents had on their books fell to an average of 62, down from 64 in August, as the market continued to be characterised by a shortage of supply, which many economists believe has driven the increase in prices.

There was also a drop in the proportion of first-time buyers, down 10 % from 36% in August, but in line with the level seen for most of 2009. The number was also well up on September last year, when only one in 10 buyers was a newcomer to the market.

The NAEA said first-time buyer numbers may have been inflated as people searched for bargains before the end of the stamp duty holiday.

(National Association of Estate Agents)