Home sales at 30 year low according to RICS

Home sales have fallen to a 30 year low last month; this is a direct result of the current mortgage market, as it is dragging down house prices in the UK. Estate agents have reported that they are now selling an average of just 15 properties in the three months to the end of June. These figures have been supplied by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

According to The Times Online, these figures show that house sales are now 40 percent lower than the same period last year; these results are now the lowest since RICS began its series in 1978. The value of houses has also gone down, buyers have been forced to do this, just to try and get a buyer in this tough market.

You would have thought that with falling house prices it would help to increase sales, but this has been cancelled out by mortgages being harder to get. The number of mortgage applications now being processed is much lower.

This is a direct result of mortgage lenders demanding larger deposits from first-time buyers, along with tougher criteria. If buyers do not have the five percent needed for a mortgage, then they will find it all but impossible to get on the housing ladder.

Getting a fixed rate mortgage is also getting more expensive as lenders demand larger set up fees, if you want a better deal, then they are reserved for those who can put down a deposit of 25 percent or more.

Going by what we have seen over recent months, home sales are expected to fall even further.