Full Steam Ahead - figures point to a strong autumn market

Residential property sales were up by 7% in July compared to the same month year, with 90,630 transactions, official figures show.

But the total was very slightly lower month on month, dipping by under 1% compared to June according to the data from HM Revenue & Customs.

Jackson-Stops chairman Nick Leeming says: “The market is positioning itself for a busier end to the year compared to even 12 months ago.

“While transaction data can take longer to show a shift in trends, even today’s annual uptick suggests greater confidence from buyers and sellers in direct response to a clearer political outlook and improving economic situation. This greater sense of clarity is being seen across the Jackson-Stops network too.

“In July, new applicants, listings and completions were all higher than June 2024. Completions particularly have seen a notable uptick month-on-month and are also up considerably on a year ago.

“Though, sellers continue to have the upper hand and prices are being insulated as a result of the level of demand that is outstripping current stock levels. Despite this, buyers are remaining resolute in their searches, we have seen an 18% increase in applicants compared to a year ago and an 11% rise month-on-month.”

Meanwhile new house purchase mortgage approvals lifted to their highest level in almost two years, up 2.3% to 62,000 in July from a month earlier according to data from the Bank of England shows.

Approvals were last higher in September 2022 when they hit 65,100: however remortgage approvals fell 8.1% to 25,100 last month from June, continuing their downward trend since March.

The study added that consumer mortgage lending rose 7.7% to £2.8 billion in July, also the highest since November 2022.

The annual growth rate for net mortgage lending rose to 0.6% in July, following a rise to 0.5% in June, continuing the trend seen in previous months.