Yorkshire homes are selling fast, 
fuelling fears of property drought

Throughout December, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found the average number of transactions per surveyor reached 23 – more than double the rate of sales at the lowest point of the downturn back in January 2009, when respondents were selling just 10 properties each during the same period.

The survey revealed that demand for rented accommodation had begun to slow significantly and reported that the number of homes coming onto the market wass “still nowhere near enough to meet the higher level of demand, causing prices to rise”.

Meanwhile a property drought could cause prices to rise, according to the latest survey by home.co.uk.

They say the number of homes for sale has hit a record low as vendors still hold back from entering the market.

The problem is particularly acute in London and the South East, where stock is now 38 per cent lower than in January 2008.

Annual asking price rises across England and Wales are running at 6.2 per cent, though in Yorkshire the igure is 0.6 per cent.

Doug Shephard, director at home.co.uk, said buy-to-let was partly to blame: “Landlords effectively remove the stock from the resale market and, in turn, bloat the private rental market.

“While the aspiration to own a home remains commonplace, it has clearly been dampened.”