The Index, based on the volume and activity status of 'For Sale' and 'Sold' boards across the UK, showed that house sales activity in September dropped for the third consecutive month falling 8.7% from August and was the lowest level of monthly sales seen since February.
The longer term trend is also showing signs for concern. The three month average shows a 1.5% decrease in house sales, the first time since January that it has been negative.
But it's not a gloomy picture throughout the UK. For example, Glasgow led the way for monthly house sales, experiencing a 100.0% increase in September. Colchester (+20.3%), Manchester (+15.8%), Cardiff (+8.2%) and Bristol (+7.9%) completed the top 5 cities for house sales.
The East Midlands saw the biggest decrease in September monthly sales with Leicester and Nottingham seeing falls of 35.1% and 34.3% respectively. Cambridge (-27.7%), Edinburgh (-27.3%) and Brighton (-26.6%) completed the bottom 5 worst performing UK cities for house sales in September.
And, when it came to the number of properties put on the market in September, the same overall trend as house sales was followed with a 5.5% decrease. However, Glasgow again bucked the trend with a massive 134.9% increase followed by increases in Southampton (+46.7%), Oxford (+14.0%), Birmingham (+13.1%) and Leicester (+5.3%).
The five cities that saw the biggest slump in the number of houses put up 'For Sale' were Bristol (-39.6%), Nottingham (-32.3%), York (-29.9%), Milton Keynes (-29.3%) and Coventry (-26.0%).
Commenting on these results, Stephen Watson, Managing Director, Agency Express, said:
"Although we might have expected the number of properties 'Sold' and to be put up 'For Sale' in September to have increased, it appears that more people than usual were active in August. Usually, due to holidays away, people to tend to put off their involvement in the housing market till September.
"However, the impact of the recession may well have forced more people to 'holiday at home' which had the 'double-whammy' effect of freeing up the money they would have spent on a holiday abroad to use to cover the costs of moving, and actually being at home meant they were able to make progress on a sale or purchase. Whilst many people are more optimistic about the economy, September's findings show that the housing market is still showing signs of brittleness.
"It’s safe to say that we are not out of the woods yet but we are expecting October to show a more positive picture both in terms of sales and houses being put on the market."
