Karli Edmondson
Posted: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 11:44 am

Hamptons International, the Uk residential estate agency, has announced a 24 percent increase in the number of net sales achieved in July 2010, compared with July 2009.  The news comes as downbeat industry price predictions show no signs of slowing sales volumes in London and the South.        

The upbeat market in July follows what was a subdued June across the industry due to austerity measures delivered in the emergency budget and the fallout from a changing political landscape.  July, however, has seen a sharp return in confidence as a greater understanding of the personal financial impact of the budget, along with more realistic pricing by vendors, has encouraged large numbers of buyers to enter the market.      

Marc Goldberg, Head of Sales at Hamptons International, comments: “As predicted, housing stock levels are increasing across the board as speculative vendors make a welcome return to the market.  The more stable pricing outlook for the remainder of the year is acting as an incentive to prospective vendors.  With no reason to hold-back from putting property on the market to benefit from future potential short-term gains in pricing, we are seeing a welcome number of new properties coming onto the market to help meet increasing demand.” 

In spite of the expected deceleration in the market over the summer, applicants registering their interest in purchasing a new home through Hamptons outnumber new properties coming onto the market by 7:1. 

Marc continues, “We saw the pricing expectation gap between vendors and purchasers deepen during Spring 2010.  We are, however, looking towards an autumn where low interest rates coupled with higher stock levels will create a stable market environment.  July has been an active and positive month for Hamptons International but the overall market still shows signs of inconsistencies with some areas outperforming others.”