M Winkworth plc (“Winkworth”), the leading franchisor of real estate agencies, today publishes its quarterly review analysing trends and the outlook for the UK residential property sales and lettings markets. The data for the report is gathered from a monthly survey of franchisees and should therefore be considered as indicative rather than factual.

Follow this link for a full copy of the report: Winkworth Market Analysis (Autumn 2010)

Highlights

-  Property levels have risen as sellers look to capitalise on the price increases of the first six months of 2010

-  Despite falling new instructions, the number of properties on the market increased 2% between June and August as buyers swapped house-hunting for holidays

-  Lack of demand and greater availability caused property prices to fall, on average from £530k to £518k in London and from £509k to £494k nationally (May – August 2010)

-  New buyers rushed to market after the emergency budget – registrations were up 22% between May and June

-  But, the overall number of buyers has fallen to below the level of the same period in 2009

-  The house market remained robust over the quarter thanks to demand from family movers with access to cheaper mortgages

-  Conversely, the market for flats softened as first-time buyers continue to struggle to afford deposits

-  In prime central London, new instructions have increased year-on-year as investors look to cash in

-  But demand is weaker in prime central London as sterling has strengthened and nervousness about the future of the economy kicks in

-  Prices in prime central London remained relatively stable over the quarter ending at £897k in August

-  In rentals, the end of summer tenant rush has outstripped supply

-  Tenant registrations soared over July and August, finishing 47% up on May

-  The number of potential renters in August was up 14% on last year

-  In contrast, the number of rental properties on the market in August was over 50% lower than a year ago

Dominic Agace, CEO of M Winkworth Plc, comments:

‘With interest rates set to remain low for the foreseeable future we do not envisage a double dip in the UK property market. We expect, however, price pressure to subside as more properties become available and the pool of buyers remains to some extent constrained by the availability of finance. Rentals have seen price increases following a shortfall in investment in the sector by private landlords due to the suspension of buy to let mortgage products over the last two years and the selling off of “accidental landlord” properties.  We believe that there are good opportunities for buyers with 25% equity to achieve an increased gross yield on investment property.’