Subscribe Feed (RSS)The decline in house prices ‘has eased’ according to the Halifax
July 8th, 2009 by Karelia | Filed under House Prices, Property Market News.Musings of a London Property Finder
After the 2.6% rise in average house prices posted last month, the Halifax have reported a 0.5% drop in June, which is a sign of sensible buyers in our view. Anecdotally, anyone looking for a home right now will know there is a lack of property available and some homes are going quickly or reaching sealed bid situations.
Martin Ellis, housing economist for the Halifax said: “ On a quarterly basis, the 1.9% fall in house prices in the second quarter was the smaillest since 2008 Q1. These figures provide evidence that the underlying pace of house price decline is easing.”
He added, ” Improvements in affordability and low interest rates have stimulated housing demand. This, together with a low level of properties available for sale, has helped to stabilise activity and reduce the underlying rate of house price decline in recent months.
Overall we expect to see a continuing mixed pattern of monthly house price rises and falls over the remainder of 2009.”
It will be interesting to see what the land registry, the house price index which tracks sold prices reports over the next few months. Everyone in the know is noticing that the market seems to be stabilising but with a poor economic forecast overall, I would boldly suggest that sellers wishing to sell in the next 9 months should do so now and try to catch the tail end of the summer rush as we are predicting a slower Autumn.
Longer term, we should also consider politics and if the tories get in next May as expected, then they will undoubtedly pressurise the Bank of England to raise interest rates to support savers who make up a significant proportion of their support. If that happens, the affordability we are seeing today will reduce. Whether house prices follow or whether there is enough pent up demand to sustain them remains to be seen.
In my capacity as a London Property Finder, the advice to buyers is simple. If you find your dream home: buy it if you can negotiate a price you are happy with. If you are under time pressure, go ahead and buy, but don’t pay more than the property is worth now, particularly if you want to make money. Is it a good time to invest? Absolutely, but only if you know what you are doing and you or someone else researches the property thoroughly. There are more genuine bargains around now than there have been for a while, but there are some turkeys too. If you need some advice or need an ROI-focused London Property Finder, you know where we are.
Tags: Halifax, House Prices, London House Prices, London property finders
