House completions fell to their lowest level all year in Q2 2023 despite an increase in listings, Landmark Information Group has revealed.
In its Q2 Residential Property Trends report, Landmark reported that completions in Q2 dropped 13 per cent below that of Q1 2023 and were 39 per cent lower than Q2 2019, on average.
This fall came despite a 12 per cent increase in listings in June when compared to the 2019 benchmark.
Landmark stated that this spike in supply could be attributed to a combination of fall-throughs, landlords off-loading their properties, and increased interest rates forcing homeowners to sell.
The report also found that, while listings increased, many transactions failed to progress to the sold subject to contract phase, with the SSTC level last month being 23 per cent lower than in June 2019.
However, the report discovered that SSTC volumes had recovered within Q2 as, in April, volumes were down 35 per cent on the same period in April 2019, and at the end of the quarter volumes had reached -23 per cent.
This recovery was attributed to an increased number of working days in June.
Additionally, mortgage valuation volumes were 35 per cent lower than in Q2 2023 compared to the same period in 2019, emphasising the challenges faced by prospective buyers.
Landmark CEO, Simon Brown, commented: “Despite the promising signs of market stabilsation we were seeing at the end of first quarter, our data clearly shows how the broader economic instability was impacting the transaction pipeline into Q2 of this year.
“Progressed demand has remained weak, likely due to ongoing high interest rates and subsequent restricted mortgage availability - and this has had an inevitable knock-on effect across the rest of the transaction milestones.”
Brown also stated that activity will only go through the pipeline once the market finds a balance between interest rates, inflation and the cost of housing.
“When that time comes, speeding up property transactions will be essential to a swift and sustained recovery,” he added.
The report also stated that, despite tentative signs of recovery at the end of Q1, the continued fluctuation in interest rates, and subsequent squeeze on mortgage availability and affordability, disrupted transactions in Q2.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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