Good News for the Housing Market?
November 23, 2008
The latest news to emanate from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is that mortgage lending rose slightly in the month of October. Total lending rose to £18.7bn, 7% up from the previous month. However, to put this in context, lending in October was 44% lower than that in October last year, just before the sub prime debacle triggered the present mortgage drought.
Whilst consumer confidence may be bruised, property investors may not necessarily share the same sentiment. Do they know something we don't know?
Some estate agents have seen recent changes with the professional property developer returning to the scene snapping up properties that represent better value than a year ago for example. The reason for this is not clear but for those desperate to sell, this would represent hope and the first glimmers of a housing recovery.
Some expert commentators believe that the fall in mortgage lending may now have reached a trough. Certainly, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) pointed out that its own surveys had shown a recent increase in enquiries from potential new buyers. Whilst this may be so, the general belief is that house prices will continue to fall with some predicting a further 20% drop in 2009 after a likely fall of around 15% this year. With the festive season soon upon us, we are entering a quiet period with most sellers happy to wait until the New Year before marketing their property.
The future remains uncertain and we wait with baited breath upon the measures the Chancellor will introduce in his efforts to kick-start the economy. Fasten your seat belts; the roller coaster ride is not yet over!
To find a company who may assist you further, simply click on the free links located on the right hand side of the page.
Comment on This Article:
All HTML, except <i>, <b>, <u> will require your comment to be moderated before it is publicly displayed.
If you would like your own avatar displayed, read about comment avatars.
Reader Comments
Skip to form
There are currently no comments about this article.