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Steady in UK

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Source: Catherine Deshayes

Housing intelligence group, Hometrack, has today reported that house prices in England and Wales held steady for the second consecutive month in June...

According to the group, strong demand from buyers is continuing to outstrip the shortage of houses on the market.

The group puts the average cost of a home in England and Wales at an unchanged £155,600.

The annual rate at which house prices are falling also continued to ease, with year-on-year property values 8.7 per cent lower in June, down from a 9.6 per cent drop in the previous month.

Just three per cent of postcode areas experienced prices falls during June - down from 32 per cent in the previous month and 60 per cent at the start of 2009, said the organisation.

Richard Donnell, Director of research at Hometrack, said, "Over the last six months, the volume of buyers has grown by 36 per cent, this compares to a 6.4 per cent increase in the number of homes for sale."

Mr Donnell added, "The two key risks for the market are either a renewed weakening in demand or a surge in the volume of housing for sale."

"Given the uncertain outlook for the economy, it is the demand side where the greatest risk lies, as many would-be buyers continue to remain cautious or are unable to obtain sufficient equity or finance to access the market," he explained.

Meanwhile, there was a further five per cent rise in registrations from prospective buyers in June but during the month, there was only a 0.8 per cent increase in the number of properties that were put up for sale.

In other news today, the Bank of England (BoE) revealed a rise in mortgage approvals for the month of May.

According to the Bank, the number of mortgages approved for house buying rose to 43,414 - a 13-month high and up from 43,191 the previous month.

Source: www.homemove.co.uk