The housing market has “stagnated” in the second quarter of the year despite strong levels of supply, research from Landmark has suggested.
The research, Landmark’s Q2 Property Trends Report, found over the second quarter of the year, transactions were “struggling” to progress through to completions, reflecting ongoing affordability issues driven by high interest rates.
This was despite listing volumes being, on average, 6 per cent higher in the second quarter of 2024 when compared to Q2 2019, the report’s benchmark year.
Landmark Information Group CEO, Simon Brown, said this paints a “clear picture” of the scale of the challenge the new government inherits.
“While housing supply is the strongest it has been in years, inefficiencies within the home-moving process, combined with affordability constraints for buyers, mean that transaction levels are not where they should be,” he explained.
“This is frustrating for home-movers and detrimental to the property market as a whole.”
To address these issues, Brown suggested emphasising the use of data, as he stated: “By putting data at the heart of the home-buying and selling process, we can streamline transactions, reduce delays, and ultimately revitalise the property market.
“With the property market contributing to 20 per cent of UK economic activity, addressing these inefficiencies presents an enormous untapped opportunity.
“The Labour government’s commitment to building 1.5mn homes is commendable, but unless we also focus on improving the transaction process and ensuring economic stability, it could take years to see the full benefits.”
However, the research was not completely negative as it also suggested that, despite the challenges, the market is poised for a potential upturn when the broader economic picture stabilises.
This was due to the high level of listings, moderate growth in completion rates, and increasing availability of competitive mortgage deals that was discovered in the data.
Landmark has said that this all points to a possible return to more dynamic conditions in the latter half of 2024, provided that economic stability improves, and systemic inefficiencies are addressed by the new government.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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