Estate agency reports fewer house sales

British estate agency group Countrywide provided firm evidence of a cooling in the UK's housing market today after arranging 25% fewer sales in July than a year ago.

The group, which has almost 900 UK offices including the Bairstow Eves and Mann & Co chains, said successive interest rate rises had put a dampening effect on the market as buyers started to act “more circumspectly”.

The update came as figures today showed Countrywide enjoyed a better first six months of the year with operating profits across its business, which also covers conveyancing and financial services, almost doubling to £40.7m (€60.8m).

Shares in Countrywide, which recently demerged its life assurance arm into a separate business called Chesnara, slumped 14% following the update.

While the company said it arranged 25% fewer sales in June than a year ago, chairman Christopher Sporborg added that it was possible that seasonal factors may have influenced the fall.

He added: “We will have greater clarity on the underlying trends in the housing market as the autumn approaches but we are taking the precaution of reducing our costs where appropriate.”

In the estate agency division, turnover in the core UK business for the six months to June 30 rose 26% to £125.1m (€187m) with operating profits up to £22.1m (€33m) from £4.7m (€7m) a year earlier.