House sales will top 800,000 this year, says CML
Friday 13th November 2009
The number of housing transactions will reach 810,000 this year, says the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
The forecast is well ahead of most other predictions, which are for around 600,000.
First-time buyers are returning to the housing market, says the CML. The number of loans to first-time buyers rose 5% between August and September and by 45% year on year, climbing to 19,700.
Of these, one-third escaped Stamp Duty because of the current ‘holiday’ exempting properties worth up to £175,000.
The CML has also re-forecast the number of repossessions for this year, down from 75,000 to an expected 48,000.
This followed news that repossessions numbered 11,700 in the third quarter of this year, a reduction on 12,700 in the first quarter.
In a hat-trick of good news, the CML also reported that the buy-to-let market is growing again, with the number of buy-to-let mortgages in the third quarter climbing from 21,600 in the second quarter to 23,700. The total value of the loans was up 10%.
http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2550&title=House_sales_will_top_800,000_this_year,_says_CML&type=news_features
