Resi property transactions drop 8.5% in July
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:
“What we are seeing at present is the usual summer slump in transactions being exacerbated by Brexit uncertainty and a refusal by sellers to transact at a lower price than they may have secured before the referendum.
Although mortgage affordability remaining fairly good, the huge stamp duty costs facing many buyers will do little to stimulate demand at the other end and continue to act as a financial anchor for those looking to climb the ladder. Even more so now Sajid Javid has completed a full three-sixty on his proposals to shift the responsibility to sellers.”
Founder and CEO of Springbok Properties, Shepherd Ncube, commented:
“Despite a strong start to the year transactional momentum has dropped, but it’s important to note that in any market conditions, this is always going to happen during the summer months.
It just so happens that currently, we have the addition of a slower market which presents a picture that perhaps seems worse than it actually is.
The good news is that transactions should begin to spike towards the end of the year, although this growth will remain muted when compared to the backdrop of previous years.”