Insurance News Archive
House prices 'could fall by 10%'
House prices are predicted to fall by another ten per cent next year, according to experts.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) anticipates that property values will decline by at least a quarter from their peak in the summer of 2007.
Rics' annual forecast also says that property sales could have already hit their bottom level and may rise again by ten per cent in 2009.
The trade body has urged the government to take action to help borrowers by restoring the flow of the mortgage lending market.
"Lenders are likely to remain cautious in the near term in the absence of any guarantees on mortgage backed securities," said the organisation's chief economist Simon Rubinsohn.
Earlier this week, the Council of Mortgage Lenders issued a similar plea to MPs, saying they need to incentivise new lending.
A spokesperson for the organisation said the council wants to see the government act upon recommendations made by Sir James Crosby in his report on the state of the property market.
24 Dec 2008
