Two-thirds of property professionals say the housing market is no busier since the budget, casting doubt over reports of a rebound, research shows.
Last Autumn saw activity fall to its lowest level in two years amid fears that the chancellor was planning a Stamp Duty hike. But although it failed to materialise, the market may not be bouncing back quite as quickly as expected.
According to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers’ (CLC) quarterly confidence tracker, just 36% of property professionals believe business has picked up since November.
Confidence in the stability of the current market is creeping back up, however, from a low of 42% among those asked in the last survey to 54% this time around.
Likewise, consumers have been buoyed post-budget according to respondents - 36% said buyers were confident in current market conditions, up from 17% last year. It was a similar picture for sellers, rising from 16% to 24%.
Stephen Ward, director of strategy and external relations at the CLC, says: “It is clear from the responses to our survey that, while some see green shoots of recovery, many believe the predicted bounce back may take a little longer.
“However, there is a sense that buyers and sellers are feeling more confident, albeit that they may not all be in an immediate rush to move.”
The survey also garnered views on the speed and efficiency of the conveyancing process, but it was not such a positive picture with just 18% believing that things were improving and not getting worse. Indeed, transaction times for the large majority still average three to four months – a figure that has not changed since the first tracker survey at the start of last year.
The CLC, which was among those to respond to the recent government consultations on homebuying and selling reform, recently partnered with the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) and Raidiam to develop a proof of concept of a framework for digitising property data. The pioneering project will enable the safe, secure sharing of information at the very start of a transaction and hopefully support reduction of the one in three sales that fall through.
Stephen adds: “The current fall-through rate of 30% is unacceptable and must be reduced, and a huge amount of work is being done by the Home Buying and Selling Council and other industry leaders and innovators to make that happen.
“The vision is to deliver a more efficient and reliable system, which will instil confidence in consumers and conveyancers alike and support a healthy housing market for everyone.”
