Insurance News Archive

Estate agents 'optimistic' about property market

Estate agents are optimistic about the future of the property market, with many expecting sales to pick up in the new year, it is reported.

Ian Fraser, franchisee of Winkworth Islington, told the Telegraph that he expects falling interest rates to make houses more affordable and the falling value of the pound to attract overseas buyers.

"Confidence is creeping back as buyers realise that they can get a property 25 per cent cheaper than summer 2007," he tells the newspaper.

Alex Thompson, director of Winkworth Notting Hill, says he expects the property market to recover more quickly than the economy. He forecasted that sales would increase after a slow start to 2009.

Nigel Field, of the estate agents' Kennington branch, expects the market to stabilise next year with an increase in buyers in the first few months as banks begin to sell more reasonable mortgage deals.

Estate agents Knight Frank's Global House Price Index found that over half of the 44 countries studied showed quarterly price falls.

19 Dec 2008