House sales drop up to 20% in major cities, says Hometrack

Hometrack claims that the number of sales over the past 12 months has fallen by two per cent on average across the UK’s top 20 cities - but with individual locations seeing falls of up to 20 per cent. 

London saw a seven per cent dip in transactions and Cambridge saw sales fall by a fifth. 

Hometrack says there are also signs that the annual rate of house price inflation in southern England is starting to plateau as the level of sales slows and affordability pressures on would-be buyers increase.

Uncertainty around the EU referendum is also likely to slow activity further, as questions remain as to the level to which the campaign will influence households’ decision making and overall levels of housing market activity. 

"Slower growth in sales volumes has been a trend seen over the last three years across the high value, high growth cities such as Cambridge, Oxford, Aberdeen and London where house prices have been rising for six consecutive years” says Richard Donnell, Hometrack’s Insight Director. 

"The EU referendum adds further complexity to an already complex outlook. Our analysis shows that the Scottish referendum, and the 18 month campaign that preceded it, resulted in 10 per cent fewer transactions and slower house price growth over the period relative to England” says Donnell. 

“The shorter run up to the EU vote will help but the true impact will depend on how quickly the campaigning focuses on the economic ramifications for UK households and the knock on effect for housing related decisions as Scotland proved. A vote to remain in the EU should see a return to business as usual whereas a vote to leave will create additional uncertainty" he says.