Property sales reach 15-month high

The latest results from June's Agency Express property activity index show further signs that the residential housing market is on the road to recovery.

The index, based on the volume and activity status of ‘For Sale’ and ‘Sold’ boards across the UK, reveals the number of ‘Sold’ signs instructed by estate agents in June rose to its highest level for since April 2008, showing a 19.2% increase on May 2009.

Year-on-year there were 36.3% more sales in June 2009 than June 2008. The region showing the greatest monthly increase in the number of boards moving to ‘Sold’ was the West Midlands, with a staggering 58.7% rise, followed by the East Midlands, with a 35.1% increase and Yorkshire with a 28.8% increase.

The regions experiencing the lowest increase in sales were Wales which remained static, London where there was a 7.6% increase and the North East where 8.3% more sold signs were instructed.

Stephen Watson, managing director of Agency Express, said: “Our index shows that there are grounds for continuing optimism that we have seen the bottom of the market. Confidence is definitely returning and we have seen a step-change in the number of properties being sold right across the UK.

“This is likely to encourage more people to put their houses up for sale and we have certainly seen evidence of this happening already. But, we are not out of the woods yet. The number of properties sold in June is still significantly behind the monthly average we saw in 2007 and I would suggest that it’s likely to take another couple of years for a full recovery to take place.”