New instructions fell by 3.4% in December.
Despite continued resilience in the property market over Q4, there are no signs of a ‘Boris bounce’ in new instructions or asking prices, the latestTwentyCi Property & Homemover Report for Q4 2019 has found.
Overall property exchange volumes increased slightly year-on-year by 0.8%, with 928,234 homes exchanged in the 12 months to the end of the year.
Yearly volume for Q4 comprised of 1,673,845 new instructions, a fall of 3.4% to December.
Colin Bradshaw, chief customer officer at TwentyCi, said: “The unprecedented turmoil of 2019 has demonstrated the resilience of the UK property market with transaction volumes and average prices remaining remarkably stable against a back drop of political upheaval and economic threats.
“Consumers have still been behaving hesitantly when it comes to both buying and selling their homes, however with Brexit now planned for later this month, we could see a welcome boost to the slow-moving property market of 2019, at least in the short-term as people look to get on with the job of moving house.”
Asking prices remained flat overall across the country during the last quarter of the year, with price growth in London, Scotland and the North.
In comparison, many areas in the south of the country saw a slight decline overall last year, showing a small percentage reduction in average asking prices.
The much anticipated ‘Boris bounce’ is yet to materialise in the first weeks of 2020.
However, with report of rising consumer confidence and Brexit confirmed for the end of January, many property analysts expect Q1 to see an uplift in the level of transactions.
Bradshaw added: “The value of homemovers to the UK economy exceeds £12bn per annum on expenditure on the home outside of the transaction.
“Enabling this high value consumer audience through political stability, property affordability and stock availability will be an essential pillar to fuel the UK economy and boost retail confidence.”
