Price trends and indicators in the UK property market

Posted under General by Michael

Completed sales in the Midlands and northern England in the first quarter of 2008 were down almost 17 per cent on the corresponding period last year, according to a research report published in the leading UK publication Telegraph. In fact, it predicted further fall in transactions as buyers were getting deterred by tough-to-get mortgages.

Prices remained mixed but, according to another survey, but not universally down! The Halifax bank indicated that prices in the first quarter of this year went down by around 5 per cent in the West Midlands and half a per cent in Yorkshire as well as the North-West.

On the other hand, they went up by around 2.2 per cent in the East Midlands and 1.2 per cent in the North-East. Contradicting this, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported fall in prices in invariably all regions – for the eighth consecutive month (and for the 15th in a row in the East Midlands).
In the present not too encouraging climate, the temptation to trim your losses and sell your property is rather strong. But it makes sense to stay put and make your existing portfolio work harder. There is potentially huge benefit in doing so. You just need to be patient enough!