Express & Star

It's agony for estate agents

Estate agents today told of the terrifying roller coaster ride they are being given by the region's housing market as a shock report claimed that some were selling fewer than one property a week as prices continue to tumble.

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for-sale.jpgEstate agents today told of the terrifying roller coaster ride they are being given by the region's housing market as a shock report claimed that some were selling fewer than one property a week as prices continue to tumble.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its members sold an average of 11.5 homes during the three months to the end of September – the lowest level since its survey first began in 1978. Estate agents in the West Midlands and Staffordshire today reported mixed fortunes, although all report a sharp decline.

Martin Pain, director of Bromleys Estate Agents in Market Street, Hednesford, said: "We are not selling one a week at the moment. We have an awful lot of repossessions, which are undercutting the rest of the properties for sale. Things have got to pick up, otherwise we will all go out of business."

But Nick Berriman partner of Berriman Eaton, which has branches in Tettenhall, Wombourne and Bridgnorth, said: "There is no month this year that any of our offices have only agreed four sales.

"Business was slower in June and September but even then we were two or three times that level.

"Having said that, this has been the hardest year for many years, and we had to close our recently opened office in Shifnal."

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors also reported today that the number of surveyors reporting house price falls during September increased for the first time since April.

Overall, 84.2 per cent more chartered surveyors reported seeing further price slides during the month compared to those who saw price rises, compared with 81.8 per cent more who reported falls in August.

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