House sales during the first half of 2009 were down by 31.16% when compared to the same period last year according to the latest report from the Ministry of Housing.
There were 217,589 houses sold during the first six months of 2009, down from 316,096 in 2008. The number of transactions is the lowest figure since they began recording such statistics in 2004.
Incidentally, the figures for the first six months of 2008 were down a similar amount, 31%, when compared to 2007.