Property supply dwindles according to NAEA

According to the National Association of Estate Agents  UK housing market report for August 2014 , the number of properties available to buy per estate agent fell to an eleven year low in the month.

Supply of available housing fell by a third in the last month, with 38 houses available per branch in August, compared to 55 in July. This is the lowest level of supply seen since January 2004, when 38 properties were also available.

August saw a dip in house hunters, with an average of 408 house-hunters registered per member branch, compared to 462 in July – a 12% drop.

The number of sales completed in August rose by one to an average ten properties per branch in August; however sales made to first time buyers (FTBs) fell to the lowest level since July 2014. One in five sales (20%) were made to FTBs in August, compared to 23% in July and 24% in June, indicating movement in the market is taking place higher up the ladder and it’s second and third steppers pushing through sales.

Mark Hayward, managing director, National Association of Estate Agents said: “We’ve been banging the drum about the dwindling supply of housing for a while and this month’s report reiterates what we’ve been saying – there simply aren’t enough houses to match demand and we’re reaching crisis point. There are now eleven house hunters fighting after every available house which isn’t sustainable. First time buyers are finding themselves being squeezed out of the competition, which of course means it’s taking young buyers longer to get their foot on the first step of the ladder, which will in turn increase pressure on the rental market.”

NAEA website: http://www.naea.co.uk/info-guides/housing-market-reports/

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Letting Agent Talk

Will RRA mean almost 50% of renters need a guarantor?

A surge in tenants who require a rent guarantor is coming to the post-RRA rental market   New analysis by Zero Deposit reveals that the proportion of local authority districts in which the average tenant is likely to need a rent guarantor to secure pass tenancy affordability checks could increase from one-in-five to almost one-in-two…
Read More
Breaking News

Nationwide House Price Index for May 2026 – Thoughts from the Industry

The latest Nationwide House Price Index for May 2026 shows that: House prices fell by -0.6% between April 2026 and May 2026. This marks the first monthly decline recorded so far this year. Annual house price growth slowed to 1.7% in May 2026, down from 3.0% in April 2026. The average UK house price now…
Read More
Breaking News

Annual house price growth slows in May

UK annual house price growth slowed to 1.7% in May, from 3.0% in April House prices were down 0.6% month on month   Headlines May-26 Apr-26 Monthly Index* 551.0 554.3 Monthly Change* -0.6% 0.4% Annual Change 1.7% 3.0% Average Price (not seasonally adjusted) £278,024 £278,880 * Seasonally adjusted figure (note that monthly % changes are…
Read More
Home and Living

Signs of Outdated Wiring in Older Tulsa-Area Homes

Tulsa has a lot of beautiful older homes. Brookside bungalows, Maple Ridge tudors, the postwar neighborhoods that fill out Midtown and East Tulsa. They were built well, but most were built before central air, before microwaves, before two-car households with two laptops and a dozen phone chargers. The electrical systems inside them were designed for…
Read More
LIVING BY THE SEASIDE 2022
Breaking News

Britain’s seaside price hotspots revealed

New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals Britain’s seaside hotspots where prices are rising the fastest Bootle in Merseyside leads the way, with average asking prices up 11% year-on-year, followed by Crosby in Liverpool (+9%) and Penarth in South Glamorgan (+9%) Other coastal locations including Llantwit Major in South Glamorgan (+8%) and Llanelli, in Carmarthenshire (+7%) are also seeing strong price growth Average asking prices are currently 0.3% lower in Great Britain compared to last year, with some seaside hotspots outpacing the…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Hertfordshire emerges as strongest performing London commuter county

New research from UK Property Development reveals that while London property prices fell by more than -3% in the past year, prices in some of the capital’s surrounding counties have enjoyed positive growth, none more so than the premium commuter county of Hertfordshire.   In the past year, London’s average house price has fallen by…
Read More