It might seem odd that we are only reporting 2009 now, but because of the Land Reg lag it is only now that we can look at the full set of data for the WHOLE of 2009.
2009 was a tale of two very different halves for the UK property market. The first half of the year was pretty poor coming off a year of transaction volumes at historic lows. The second half of the year was a different story as sales started to bounce back strongly, particularly in the south where buyers returned to the market as prices became tempting and to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday.
Key points:
• 61% of last year’s total sales transactions occurred in last 6 months
• Number of properties sold in second half of 2009 up 35% on 2008
• Houses prices up 4.7% in last half of 2009, a gain of 2.5% for year
• England property sales volumes flat in 2009 but Scotland down 33%
The figures reveal the extent of the property market turbulence last year. While property sales in Britain in 2009 were 6.8% lower than a year earlier, it was very much a year of two halves. The number of properties that changed hands in the first 6 months of last year (273,015) was down 36.9% on 2008 but the second half of 2009 showed a 34.6% surge in sales transactions (421,732) compared to the last half of 2008.
While home values in Britain managed a gain of 2.5% over 2009, average house prices fell 2.2% over the first 6 months of the year (from £205,607 to £201,067) before recovering in the second half by 4.7% to reach an average value of £210,661 by the year end. One of the biggest factors in the house price rebound in the second half of last year was the recovery in market activity with increased transaction volumes leading to higher property prices.
Transaction volumes were particularly strong in the fourth quarter of 2009, up by double-digits in all regions compared to 2008 with the exception of Scotland where sales levels have been slow to recover and were up only 8% in Q4 09 versus the previous year and were down 33% for the full year 2009, compared to a decline of only 1% in England and 12% in Wales.
Property Sales
| Country | 1H 2009 | 1 YR Change | 2H 2009 | 1YR Change | Total 2009 | Total 2008 | 1YR Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 228,536 | -33.7% | 358,894 | 43.7% | 587,430 | 594,331 | –1.2% |
| Scotland | 35,334 | -51.1% | 48,664 | -7.7% | 83,998 | 125,025 | -32.8% |
| Wales | 9,145 | -40.9% | 14,174 | 29.8% | 23,319 | 26,392 | -11.6% |
| Total Britain | 273,015 | -36.9% | 421,732 | 34.6% | 694,747 | 745,748 | -6.8% |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk
