Property sales down 16% in July as reduced lending rates fails to stop hesitancy

The number of property sales taking place in July was 16% lower than it was in the same month last year, as reduced lending rates failed to allay prospective buyers’ hesitancy. Some 86,510 sales on properties were completed in the UK throughout the month, up 1% when compared to June, new figures from HMRC show. ’There is some hesitancy as to whether now is a good time to buy while there is uncertainty as to where interest rates will peak and what will happen with property values,” Gareth Lewis, managing director of property lender MT Finance, said.  ‘As we’ve been saying for a while now, we need some stability in order to give buyers and sellers confidence. The volatility of the past few months, combined with soaring living costs, are extremely unhelpful to the smooth functioning of the market.’

City AM