House Price Market Update for May 2010

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May's property market looks like we are heading into a more stabilised market for the rest of 2010, so sellers need to sell this summer, or are likely to have to drop prices by September if not sold. Sellers are either pricing their properties fairly from the start and selling within eight weeks, or they are over pricing them and then sitting on the market for weeks on end.

Currently, there is a real danger that media 'stories' suggesting property prices are on the up (which are just verbatum reports from press releases from the likes of Nationwide, Halifax etc) are causing optimistic asking prices by sellers. BE WARNED, sellers that over price will sit on the market for months. In this market, opt for the auction model - price low, get buyers to compete for your property to get the highest price!  

For a more indepth analysis of what's happening to property prices in YOUR local area? READ MORE

The outlook for 2010 will depend on whether buyers have run out of cash and interest rates go up forcing repossession. READ MORE for a summary of Kate's price predictions for 2010.

Performance and commentary since January 2009:-

Jan 10	Feb 10	Mar 10	Apr 10
Jan 09	Feb 09	Mar 09	Apr 09	May 09	Jun 09	Jul 09	Aug 09	Sep 09	Oct 09	Nov 09	Dec 09

Click here to see our latest buying/selling articles

Headline Statistics for May 2010

Headline Statistics	Statistics	+/-	Source	Month
Average Prices	£165,596 to £237,134	+8.5% to +4.3% YoY	Rightmove Highest Land Registry Lowest	April/May data
Transactions*	53,137*	+65.59% YoY	Land Registry	Nov to Feb 10
Time to Sell	8.3 Weeks	No change from last two months	Hometrack	May
Number of viewings to sale	11	No change from last couple of months	Hometrack	May
Offer to Market Price	94.2%	Slight increase on last month	Hometrack	May
% change in new buyers registering with agents	0.5%	A decrease on previous two months	Hometrack	May
No of houses sold by agents	8	No change from last two months	NAEA	May
% sold to for sale boards	30.9%	An increase on last month	For Sale Sign Anaylsis	May
Number of new mortgages	49,871	Slightly up on last month	Bank of England	April

*  Per month

Sold versus For Sale Sign Boards data*

Month 2010	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May
Percentage Sold	26%	26.4%	25.4%	26.5%	30.9%

Month 2009	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Percentage Sold	16%	12%	17%	19.5%	21.1%	28.3%	29.5%	30.2%	36.3%	27.3%	31%	34%	26.7%

*Data provided by FSSA, for more information on this data, Contact us

Links to useful Buying and Selling Reports

Price Indices
There are at least seven property indices and other companies that comment on the property market, please checkout the links below:-

Rightmove    Halifax    Nationwide   RICS 
Communities    Financial Times    Land Registry

Other Useful Resources
Hometrack    NAEA    RICS    Savills    Knight Frank

Download Savills Residential Property Focus

For more market commentary on a national or local level:-
Contact Kate Faulkner on 07974 750562 or 0845 838 1763. To read more about Kate, please visit ABOUT US, see Kate on video and for media appearances, contact:

Sylvia Tidy-Harris
STH Management                    
Tel  +44 (0) 1530 263221
Mob  +44 (0) 7970 646872
Fax: +44 (0) 1530 264018