UK Property prices now expected to end the year higher than they started
Residential UK property prices look like they’ll end the year higher than they started, but will still face challenges during 2010, according to the latest analysis of real estate trends by RICS.
At the start of the year RICS (The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) predicted that prices would fall by 10% in 2009 but now due to a substantial shift in sentiment in the uk housing market over the past few months which has seen prices starting to pick-up in some areas, it now predicts a much more positive outlook.
Isn’t it nice to start seeing some positivity back in the market – not just property but all areas of business… caution still needs to be taken of course and certainly lessons learned from the credit mistakes a lot of people made in the last decade. But hopefully we’ll learn from this and move forward at a steady pace…? Do you think that’s possible?
So it now looks like the average house price in the 4th quarter of 2009 could be slightly higher than the same period in 2008, RICS says in its latest uk property market survey. However this does not indicate a quick return to the boom time, as activity remains very weak by historical standards, the report points out. Although mortgage approvals have gradually improved recently even if they continue to do so, transaction levels would still be well below the long-run average as a significant increase in approvals is still being hampered by the limited availability of mortgage finance.
It seems mortages are still very hard to get which I think will hold the market back a lot for the rest of 2009… any IFA’s wish to comment please let us know your thoughts…
- Nick