In July, the number of house hunters registered per member branch dropped to an average of 298, from 330 last month, according to the National Association of Estate Agents.
This is the lowest seen since November 2013, when 292 buyers were recorded, and more than a third lower than in July last year, when 462 prospective buyers were registered per branch.
Last month, the supply of houses available to buyers increased marginally, from 37 properties available to purchase per branch in June, to 38 in July.
Also in July, eight out of the 10 properties sold per member branch were for less than the original asking price – an increase of eight per cent from June.
The number of sales made to first-time buyers decreased in July, from 30 per cent of total sales made to the group in June, to 25 per cent.
In terms of the impact on the housing market that the Brexit vote has had, the NAEA found just under a third of estate agents reported no changes in the housing market since the vote and everything was business as usual.
Meanwhile, a further third of agents stated the interest from foreign investors has remained the same.
The NAEA’s managing director Mark Hayward commented: “We expected to see uncertainty in the immediate period following Brexit and during the summer months the market always quietens down, so we are optimistic that the housing market will spring back into full swing in the coming months.”
At the start of this week, Rightmove’s latest index showed the price of property coming to market in the last four weeks was 1.2 per cent (-£3,602) lower than the previous month.
The estate agency group noted a summer slump was to be expected, but there have only been larger drops in two of the last six years since 2010.
Meanwhile, rival estate agents Your Move & Reeds Rains own analysis suggested EU referendum uncertainty continued in July, as annual price growth slowed to 5.5 per cent, while transactions were down 20 per cent over the quarter compared to last year.
peter.walker@ft.com
