Foxtons: House revenues dip as estate agent pins hopes on autumn rebound
London Estate agent Foxtons has said the earnings it made from house sales in the third quarter fell by 17 per cent, in the latest sign that unruly mortgage rates are impacting the property market.
The lettings and sales group, which has 60 offices across the capital and home counties, said that total group revenue for the quarter lay largely flat on last year’s figures rising by only £0.1m to £43.9m.
Buyers putting off purchasing a home until mortgage rates cool have hindered business in the property sector.
Foxtons said it expects revenues of home sales to lower than the prior year as it moves into the fourth quarter, but expected that buyer demand will outpace last autumn’s levels which were heavily impacted by the September mini-budget.
On the lettings front, revenues soared eight per cent to £31.6m.
It comes amid an emerging trend of landlords selling up their homes to offset high mortgage rates has created a new demand for rented properties.
The business has forecasted that the rental market will continue to be “robust” in the last quarter of the year, but sky high prices may show signs of lowering and supply improves.
Foxtons said: “Supply of available rental properties is expected to continue to improve, providing an additional opportunity to increase market share.”
Furthermore, Guy Gittins, chief executive officer, said: “Market share gains across lettings, sales and financial services have enabled us to grow revenue year-to-date despite reduced sales market transaction volumes, a result of the higher interest rate environment.
“Earlier this month we launched our new “Foxtons – London’s No. 1″ marketing campaign, having regained the title as London’s largest estate agency brand off the back of significant market share gains in the first half of the year.”
He added: “The operational progress made to date, and our continued focus on growing non-cyclical and recurring revenues to decouple earnings from sales market volatility, gives me confidence that we will continue to deliver against our strategic priorities and medium-term profit ambitions.”