Insurance News Archive

Property price confidence drops in UK

Confidence in the UK property market has dropped after continuous predictions of house price falls, according to new research.

A poll by ThisisMoney.co.uk has found that three quarters of people in the UK now believe house prices will fall in 2008, with just one in five believing the average home will rise in value.

Over half of those polled felt that prices for property in Britain will fall by 11 per cent or more – wiping some £21,500 off the price of the average £194,895 home.

Simon Rubinsohn, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) chief economist, said: "2008 will prove a difficult year for the housing market, but with falls likely in the base rate, the housing market should be provided with a stable platform.

"The effect of the credit crunch will dissipate slowly meaning that those seeking to obtain finance in the first half of 2008 may struggle."

And the gloomy outlook from economists has not helped the housing outlook, with mortgage firms continuing to tighten their lending criteria.

27 Dec 2007