House sale increases 'seasonal'

Posted: 31 Oct 2008 13:37:47 GMT

The small increase in property sales is a result of seasonal influxes in demand rather than proof of a market recovery.

That is according to property market research firm Mouseprice, which claimed that more homes are generally sold at this time of the year.

Responding to a report by Hometrack showing that there was a 5.4 per cent monthly increase in sales during October, the company cautioned against drawing too many conclusions.

Selwyn Lim, director of Mouseprice, suggested that the slight increase could also be attributed to buyers waiting to purchase a new property until the government had confirmed the recent stamp duty revisions.

"Whenever sales increase they tend to be accompanied with price increases on the housing market," he said. "We think there is still a lot of uncertainty out there in the market and it remains to be seen what will happen."

Mr Lim urged home buyers not to get carried away by the increases, advising them to take these short-term changes in the landscape of the market "with a pinch of salt".

Research published recently by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors indicated that houses were selling an average of nine per cent below the asking price in September.

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