Speaking in today’s Daily Telegraph, Peter King chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents said:

“the irony is that there is no shortage of people wanting to move, but without mortgages they just can’t do it.”

The government are hoping that banks and building societies will relax their lending criteria and help to kickstart the housing market. However, so far, it appears that banks have been reluctant to increase lending, despite a £50bn scheme by the Bank of England.

The problem for estate agents is not falling prices (although this does lead to lower commissions) but the declining number of transactions. Some people point out that estate agents were one of the groups who benefitted from the long term housing boom in the UK. Rising house prices gave them a bigger commission. Some even blame estate agents for encouraging the housing boom. However, estate agents do not really have the power to influence house prices, they merely reflect local housing conditions.

Estate Agents closed a record number of branches in the past few months as evidence of the housing slow down increases. Since the start of the year there has been an estimated 4,000 job losses in the estate agent industry. There has also been a 26% fall in the number of houses changing hands since the start of the year.