The number of homes sold in July in the United Kingdom totalled just 79,000 –over 10,000 fewer completed transactions than in July last year, according to HMRC.
However, transaction data could be fractionally rosier the next time the taxman reports.
Mortgage approvals for house purchase inched up in July, according to the British Bankers Association.
The BBA said there were 33,417 mortgage approvals for house purchase in July, compared with 32,123 in June, and ahead of the monthly average of 30,695 for the six months to July 2011. The average size of the loan made in July was £151,500.
Nevertheless, the two sets of figures confirm the very low levels at which the property market is now running, compared with five years ago.
Back in July 2006, there were over 148,000 transactions, while in the year as a whole, more than 1.6m homes were sold. The figure roughly halved last year to 880,000.
In Wales, sales volumes in July halved from 6,000 five years ago to 3,000, while in Scotland they went down from 13,000 to 7,000 over the same period.
In Northern Ireland, sales quartered – from 4,000 in July 2006 to 1,000 last month.
Housing analyst Henry Pryor said: “Asking prices remain unrealistically high as sellers struggle to accept the reality of a falling market. The problem remains that there are few buyers who can actually transact.
“Whilst there are huge numbers of ‘tyre kickers’ looking at websites, those who qualify for a mortgage or who have the additional equity required are small in number. As a result, only one in three homes is actually selling.
“In 2007 the average first-time buyer saved 35% of his annual pay as a deposit for his house and he was able to borrow 95%. Today he needs a whole year’s pay as he can only borrow 75%.“
With average house prices according to the Land Registry still 16% below their 2007 peak, there are now a million people who have lost all the equity in their homes, and who even if they could take the psychological hit on the price they had hoped for, no longer has the necessary equity to put down for the next property.
“These people are blocking the homes for the current generation of first-time buyers and are, to all intents and purposes, prisoners in their own homes.”
