Property Investment Blog by Stuart Law

Chief Executive's blog on property investment

The House Price Recovery Is Here - Make No Mistake

2 April 2009

Now we have the Nationwide announcing a 'shock' rise of 0.9% in March, the first rise since October 2007 ( www.nationwide.co.uk/hpi/ ). Hardly a surprise when all the other indicators have been showing signs that we have reached the bottom in UK housing sentiment and are close to reaching the bottom in house prices in estate agent windows too.

We first noticed green shoots back in November ( investors.assetz.co.uk/blog/?postid=113 ), we warned In January that the best of distressed house prices had probably already been seen late in 2008 ( investors.assetz.co.uk/blog/?postid=126 ) and that there will only be modest house price falls in the first half of 2009 followed by potential growth in the second half ( investors.assetz.co.uk/blog/?postid=123 ).

Even the government warned people that prices could rise soon and rise sharply in January ( investors.assetz.co.uk/blog/?postid=125 ) - not bad for a government with an appalling track record of forecasting ( 'no return to boom and bust' - Gordon Brown over the years www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/sep/11/gordonbrown.economy ).

Finally our close watch of the house price indices shows extremely clearly that house prices are no longer falling at any significant level and that they will soon start rising again if things continue like this ( investors.assetz.co.uk/blog/?postid=135 ).

Make no mistake, the house price recovery is here and savvy cash buyers have been purchasing in volume from us since around November. We are finding it hard to get stock at the best prices we have seen over the last few months as sellers are creeping up their prices.

The next big phase of this market will be the first time buyers coming back in high volume - don't be fooled by the withdrawal of 100% mortgages, the average first-time buyer put down a 10% deposit two years ago and I would hazard a guess that parents would subsidise them even greater if necessary to take advantage of current pricing.

General Property Investment News ·UK Buy to Let and Commercial Property ·

Full Archive of Articles



horizontal rule

Risk Warning and Disclaimer : The price of property can go down as well as up. Historic performance should not be taken as a guarantee of future performance. Geared property investment with mortgages can increase risk of losing money as well as increasing the possible gains. Mortgage products referred to in the website can be withdrawn by the lender or have rates or other terms changed without notice and reference to any products does not imply they are certain to be available in the future. Mortgages referred to may also have certain applicant restrictions and are for indicative purposes only although reasonable endeavours have been used to ensure that they are available at the time of publication and are applicable to a significant number of our purchasers. This site is for information purposes only and nothing on this site should be taken as definitive investment advice for your particular situation without you seeking additional guidance directly from ourselves or from other finance and property professionals. Property particulars on this site do not form part of an offer or contract. The developer and Assetz for Investors Ltd, whilst endeavouring to ensure complete accuracy in these property particulars, cannot accept liability for any errors. Valuations of property or indicated rents achievable are either estimated or derived from valuations and/or comparables and can change and should not be relied upon without your own additional valuation and research, but we have carried out reasonable endeavours to achieve accurate indications for these figures. All descriptions, dimensions, areas, reference to condition and, if necessary, permissions for use and occupation and their details, are given in good faith as provided by the developer and are believed to be correct. However, these are subject to change, especially, but not wholly, relating to any property that is off-plan or not yet complete. Any intending purchaser should not rely on them as statements or representations of fact but must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise as to their accuracy. The onus is on each individual investor to undertake their own due diligence, enquiries and inspections. Our standard Terms and Conditions of Sale will apply. E. & O. E.

Please register to receive regular email updates about property investment news and opportunities from Assetz.
We will not share your information with any third parties. Please see our privacy policy for more information.