September was a bad month for estate agents
February 2, 2009
A recent report has shown that September of last year was the worse month ever for the estate agency industry, with many estate agents failing to sell even one property over that month, as the housing slump and mortgage meltdown continued to cause turmoil.
Many of the estate agents to really suffer were ones working in the London area, and with thousands of estate agents covering this area it is thought that over the course of that month hundreds may have gone without managing to sell a property that month.
Whilst this was a particularly bad time for many estate agents there are many industry officials who have predicted that the situation could continue to get worse over the course of this year, with property sales likely to slump further as mortgage rationing continued. Whilst house prices are falling this is not particularly helping the situation because many of those that would like to buy are unable to get the finance to do so in many cases.
Many officials have said that mortgage rationing will also get worse over the course of this year, with banks being increasingly cautious about who they lend to, and with more and more stringent criteria coming into play. Deposit levels are also increasing, and it is thought that there are only two lenders that now offer the once-traditional 95% mortgage, with others demanding deposits of 10, 25, or even 40 percent or more by way of a deposit.
As a result of the slowing housing market, falling house prices, and lack of sales, many estate agents have already had to close over the past year, and many others could be forced to do so as the situation continued to cause problems over the course of this year. Experts have said that despite falling house prices the situation is unlikely to improve unless mortgages become more easily available to groups such as first time buyers.
- Property website reports loss of three hundred estate agents a month The property website Right Move has recently reported that each month around three hundred struggling estate agents are quitting the service, as the housing market continued to decline and the housing slump affects the estate
- Buyers Being Forced Into Mortgage Loans By Estate Agents A recent study that was carried out by Times Money has suggested that in many cases potential property buyers in the UK are being forced into taking costly mortgage loans through the estate agency that
- Reports that property prices may pick up next year Recently an industry official predicted that house prices would have to continue falling up to an overall 35 percent before starting to recover again. However, in a separate report an estate agency industry group had
- Drop in property prices leads to increased sales According to recent reports there has been a drop in the amount that many homeowners are asking for their properties, and this has led to an increase in property sales. With property sales having slumped
- Cut out the middle man and sell your home online People buy all sorts of things online these days, from holidays and cars to entertainment and groceries. According to one recent report some people also look for a new home online, and the struggling homeowners
Comments
Got something to say?