The housing market is in the grip of an endemic transaction crisis with sales improving in just 35.6% of local authority areas in 2018 despite rock bottom mortgage rates and generous first-time buyer government aid, modular smart homes provider Project Etopia can reveal today.
Analysis of the latest Land Registry data suggests there has been a 2.3% drop in the number of transactions completed in England and Wales this year.
Among the 374 local authority areas, only 133 have seen an increase in the number of homes sold, the average rise being 3.5%2 for the eight months to August 2018 compared with the same period last year.
Stevenage, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Cambridge were the places that saw the worst falls. Stevenage witnessed a 27.5% drop, Newcastle-under-Lyme a 16.2% slump and Cambridge a fall of 16%. Among those areas that saw falls in sales, the average decline was 4.9%.
The Ten Town and Cities with the Steepest Falls in Transaction Levels Outside Greater London:
| Town/City | Transactions 2018* |
| Stevenage | -27.5% |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | -16.2% |
| Cambridge | -16.0% |
| Merthyr Tydfil | -15.1% |
| Wellingborough | -13.7% |
| Brighton | -13.3% |
| Gosport | -12.3% |
| Runnymede | -12.0% |
| Bedford | -11.8% |
| Eastbourne | -11.6% |
* Based on analysis of preliminary Land Registry transactions data published two months in arrears.
A total of 122 areas have seen transactions fall by more than 5%, while 41 local authorities witnessed sales drop by more than 10% and 11 areas more than 15%.
Greater London has been deeply affected. Tower Hamlets and Croydon have been worst affected, with transaction levels dropping 22.5% and 15.4% respectively.
City of London saw the biggest increase of any local authority area in England and Wales but was starting from a low base. It saw sales rise 66% — but only 146 properties changed hands in eight months.
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