A partial recovery in the third quarter has failed to lift earnings at London estate agent Foxtons back up to 2014 levels.
The company’s sales commissions were up 12.8% to £18.5m in the third quarter but over the nine months of the year, sales commissions remain down 3.7% on 2014 at £52.1m despite an expanded branch network.
Foxtons said it had seen some increase in activity following the May general election but warned “the market is taking time to recover especially in central London where property transaction levels remain at historically low levels due to strong recent price growth and stamp duty changes”.
Total group turnover was up 8.8% in Q3 2015 compared to the same period last year.
This was helped by steady revenue growth in the lettings business which climbed 3.3% to £22.6m.
Mortgage broking was also up 47.5% to £2.3m
Adjusted earnings for the quarter rose 15.5% to £16.4m, while earnings for the nine months of this year are at £37m, down from £39.2m.
During the year the company has opened five new branches.
Chief executive Nic Budden said: “Although we expect any recovery of the property sales market to be slow due to low current levels of stock, we enter the fourth quarter with a £1bn sales pipeline which is well above the same point last year and based on current market conditions, we remain broadly on track to meet full year expectations”.
