NEWSbeat
PRICES - ENGLAND AND WALES
100 75 50 25 0
-25 -50 -75 -100
1997
Change over past 3 months. Net balance, % (SA) Rising
PORTALS New TV ads boost traffic for DPG
Backed by new TV campaigns,
FindaProperty.com and
PrimeLocation.com both recorded monthly record results for unique visitors (UVs) with FindaProperty. com also delivering record enquiries for estate agents. DPG also recorded its highest ever total of 9.4m home searchers. A total of 5.0m and 2.7m UVs
Falling 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
One step forward, two steps back, the rocky road continues. SURVEYS
Activity is still depressed says RICS
Spring never quite sprung this year for the housing market as fears over the economy and lack of
mortgage finance continued to depress activity levels, says the latest RICS UK Housing Market survey, published on 14 June 2011. Newly agreed sales in May slipped back from the previous month, as only five per cent more surveyors reported sales rose. The average number of
completed sales per surveyor also fell by 3.4 per cent in the three months to May, to just 14.7 – the lowest level since January, but more houses are going on sale; stocks per surveyor increased by 8.1 per cent to 71.3 (from 66), and many homes stayed on surveyors’ books for longer. Given the rise in stock levels and
fewer sales levels during May, the sales to stock ratio – an indicator of the balance between demand and supply – fell to 20.6 per cent, well below the long run average of 33.5 per cent.
6 JULY 2011 PROPERTYdrum
Significantly – and sadly – there was little sign of a renewed appetite to view property, with new buyer enquiries little changed on the month (-2 per cent); many surveyors cited the bank holidays for the flattening of demand. London remains the only region of England where more surveyors saw rising rather than falling prices. Meanwhile, in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, the price balance remains negative. RICS housing spokesperson, Ian
Perry, said, “Buyer interest in purchasing property remains flat across much of the country and there is little sign of this changing any time soon. Uncertainty over the economic outlook remains as important as the availability of mortgage finance in depressing demand. “On the other hand, the
appetite to rent is continuing to grow. And, with little new supply coming onto the lettings market, the cost of renting is increasing and will continue to do so.”
TECHNOLOGY Record uptake of 3D floor plans
Metropix reports a 323 per cent increase in agents’ use of 3D floor plans
in the last 24 months. The substantial growth in 3D floor plans compares to a rise of 234 per cent in interactive plans and a 214 per cent increase in the sales of 2D Classic floor plans, in the same period. Brian Farrell, director of
Metropix said, “Our goal with 3D floor plans has always been to give agents the ability to showcase an enhanced visual layout of the client’s property using the 3D perspective. For only a few extra pounds per month, a 3D plan can be used on every property being marketed. There’s no
visited
FindaProperty.com and
PrimeLocation.com respectively which helped DPG generate 3.2m enquiries for its customers. In both cases, there was a year-on-year traffic uplift;
FindaProperty.com by 35.5 per cent and PrimeLocation. com increasing by 16.4 per cent and with DPG’s traffic growing
impressively by 25 per cent month- on-month. Sheraz Dar, Digital Property Group Marketing Director comments, “We’ve launched two TV advertisements both with fresh creative which have clearly captured the imagination of home searchers. “With just a five per cent cross-
over between our brands; our portfolio is delivering increased traffic from every level of an agent’s local market.” This is the third time in May that
FindaProperty.com has announced a new record with highest ever daily visitor figures on 31st May, higher than the previous records set on the 9th and 16th May 2011.
additional workload to staff to create the 3D since it’s automatically generated using the data already input into Metropix for a 2D classic plan. It gives agents a real point of difference to other agents in their area who might only be using 2D floor plans, and consumers really enjoy the experience of being able to visualise the perspective of the layout in an instant.”
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