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Signs point the way to housing recovery

John Fitzsimons
by Lovemoney Staff John Fitzsimons on 04 June 2009  |  Comments 6 comments

There’s a new way to gauge the state of the property market, and it comes right from the coalface.

I don't know about you, but I am sick to death of house price indices. Nationwide say this, Halifax say that, Hometrack weighs in with its two penny worth, and before you know it you are drowning in a sea of contradictory results.

Well no longer! There's a new outfit in town, with a way of tracking housing market activity like no other.

Agency Express is the UK's largest 'For Sale' board company, with one in four boards erected and serviced by its franchisees, and they have decided to cash in on their data by launching a Property Activity Index, which is based on the number of 'For Sale and 'Sold' signs instructed by estate agents.

And in May, 'Sold' signs  rose to their second highest position since May last year - a 1.7% increase on April and a jump of 123.2% on December 2008's two-year low. 'For Sale' signs also increased, 2.1% from April, with the fourth monthly increase in the last five months.

The regional breakdown also makes for pretty interesting reading. East Midlands is top of the hot spots for new 'For Sale' boards, with an 18.4% increase over the last month, followed by London (9.5%) and Yorkshire (8.7%). Not so hot are the North East (-16.6%), Wales (-7.8%) and the South West (-4.2%).

In terms of the 'Sale' boards, there has clearly been a flurry of activity in the South East, with a jump of almost 27% in May, while Scotland and the East Midlands are also doing a roaring trade, with increases of 23.2% and 12.5% respectively.

Things have slowed down though in the West Midlands (-19.7%), Wales (-8.5%) and Central Britain (-6.1%).

Of course, how much this actually tells us is open to debate, though it does correspond with the current perception that things seem to be improving in the housing sector.

But if nothing else it provides us with a quirky take on just what is happening in the property market.

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Comments (6)

  • XrayEye
    Love rating 8
    XrayEye said

    Oh for goodness sake, don't give estate agents another means to artificially inflate the optimism in the market.

    I can see it in my minds eye, 'Gladys I know we only really need 1 sign at the detached on Marlborough Road but I've had instruction from the Estate Agents Guild to erect more signs where possible, so get them to put another round the side of the property and add the cost onto the bill!'

    Exactly the reason why Agency Express had decided to rig, sorry I mean publish their figures?

    Report on 09 June 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • Johnny5
    Love rating 11
    Johnny5 said

    NickPike

    I'll tell you something, having sold databases in the city I'd rather trust their statistics based on a substantial business with proven provenence with nationwide coverage than your observation of 4 boards !

    And Xrayeye, i suppose in your view there were multiple shooters in the book depository and grassy knoll ! Anyone who understands databases knows that to tinker or maniplulate the data renders the whole thing useless and discredited. This company have only just started to market the statistics, give them a chance. I am not sure how accurate it will be but it's likely to be a useful addition to the current stats many of which have shaky and contradictary fundamentals.

    Doomsters can;t stand to see any sign of positivity. With low rates as we have at the moment and a national obsession for property, it's not surprising to many at the rekindled interest in the market.

    Ben's Dad, so it's ok for you to talk down the market is it ? I beg to differ.

    In fact, unnoticed by the likes of you there has been a stalemate going on. This is why there are too few properties on the market and fewer sales because vendors will not put their properties on the market, leading to a lack of supply in what is supposedly a buyers market. Like most negative folk you look at the problems facing the market but completely ignore the positive signs hardly objective.

    Report on 10 June 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

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