Agency Express Property Activity Index Says UK Property Market Is Recovering

The recently compiled and published Agency Express Property Activity Index suggests that the UK residential property market is showing definite signs of recovery.
The Index is based on the “For Sale” and “Sold” boards all around the United Kingdom. The Index shows that the number of “Sold” signs has increased to its highest level since May 2008 and represents a 1.7% increase on April and a 123.2% increase on December last year.
The managing director of Agency Express, Stephen Watson, being responsible for the Agency Express Property Activity Index said that it was based on a data collected since January 2007, which means that the results suggesting that the UK residential property market is recovering are trustworthy. Moreover, according to Mr. Watson, the data gathered by Agency Express reflects the housing chain activity from its very beginning and will be used in other indexes within 3 or 4 months.
He added more properties are being sold these days than last year and more people are putting their houses on sale. The Index also suggests that 2.1% more “For Sale” signs were erected in May than in April, which is 88.2% more than in December 2008 but still 44.6% less that in May 2008.
The South East showed the greatest increase in “Sold” boards in May, which amounted to 26.8%. East Midlands saw the largest amount of “For Sale” signs put up, 18.4% more than elsewhere. The average time a property had to stay on the market before it changes its status from “For Sale” to “Sold” constituted 158 days.
Other signs of property market recovery, not reflected in the Agency Express Property Activity Index, include the increase in house prices in May, which was reported by Halifax and Nationwide.