NAEA: RECOVERY MUST BE EXTENDED INTO SECOND PHASE

LENDERS must do more to help facilitate the second phase of housing market recovery, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) said today.

The NAEA’s monthly market report showed that demand for property has returned to the housing market, particularly among first time buyers.

NAEA President Gary Smith said: “NAEA figures show that the housing market is well into the first phase of recovery, but more needs to be done before we can enter the second phase.”

Mr Smith called on the Government to consider extending the stamp duty holiday in the same way as it has done with the car scrappage allowance scheme. He said that first time buyers are usually the foundation of sales chains – so any cost of extending the holiday will be heavily outweighed by additional stamp duty and VAT revenues generated further up the chains.

The NAEA’s monthly trends report revealed how the market bounced back in September after a slight seasonal dip. The number of people registered to look for property increased from 238 per branch in August to 294 in September, while the number of sales made increased from eight to nine.

The number of first time buyers remained strong – making up 26 per cent of new sales, while the level of housing stock dipped slightly from 62 houses on sale per branch in September, dropping from 64 in August.

Mr Smith said: “The state of the market in September should be a real source of optimism. The NAEA predicted that the first positive indicators were strong enough to survive a seasonal dip and we are thankful to have been proved correct.”