Who is talking the property market down?

Thursday 16.04.2009 (17 months ago)
United Kingdom :: Property News

The British love affair with property continues unabated despite the fall in prices. But a new breed of commentator has emerged, paid to talk the market down, in the hope that prices will fall further.

While it is safe to say that there is no shortage or "experts" who continue to talk the market up, making sense of where prices are headed is daunting for many buyers.

For years, hapless newbie landlords were led to believe that property prices would never fall. And that property was a great investment at any price.

But markets can be savage to naive investors - as thousands have discovered.

Property investment is not rocket science. But it's amazing how many people are fooled into buying at the top of the market.

Where prices will go is anyone's guess. But here at Prime Asset Investments, we fail to see how the market can recover until prices become more affordable.

Deposit requirements of 20% demanded by most lenders, shuts the door on many first time buyers. And until buyers can stump up the money needed for deposits, prices are likely to fall further.

A drop in prices will be further aggravated from the Buy To Let Sector. Thousands of investors purchased multiple properties during the boom in the belief the market would continue to rise.

However, servicing the mortgage payments has become ever more difficult as yields fall in response to more rental stock flooding the market. Which means that many Buy To Let owners will be forced to hand back the keys to lenders, depressing prices further.

The quicker prices fall, the quicker we can expect a recovery in the market.

© Prime Asset Investments Ltd.