A Good Time To Buy?

There is an old adage that you should not believe everything you read in the newspapers!

Unfortunately a lot of the UK press reports are keen to put negative spin on the UK housing market and be less than straight forward with the facts!

Did you know for example that a recent economic review from one the major UK building societies reported that the economy grew by 0.8% from July to September 2010. This was faster than the predicted 0.4% growth.

Interest rates remained unchanged in October with the Bank of England Base staying at 0.5%. The Ernst and Young ITEM Club have even suggested they even expect interest rates in the UK to remain unchanged for the next three years. However, the Centre for Economics and Business Research are slightly less optimistic and have reported that they expect the base rate to remain unchanged for two years!

Most experts predicted an increase in the number of unemployed. However, the number of unemployed fell by 20,000 to 2.45 million from June to August 2010. Of course we will still need to be mindful of the impact on employment that the announced spending cuts will inevitably bring.

Nothing really changed in respect of mortgage lending and mortgage approvals. 47,500 cases for new mortgages were approved in September with and additional 28,900 being approved for remortgage cases. The remortgage figure is low when compared with historic figures. Again it is anticipated that this figure will increase with lenders starting to offer more attractive remortgage deals.

....and what about rental demand?

According to ARLA (Association of Residential Lettings Agents) the number of tenants looking to rent has reached an eight year high and is far exceeding the supply of available properties. ARLA have also said that the level of demand is at the highest ever recorded since its survey began nearly ten years ago.

36% of landlords have reported rents rising in Q3 of 2010 against 6% who claim that they have fallen.

According to Moneyfacts, there are 292 available buy to let products on the market, compared to the 266 products that were available in July 2010. This is an encouraging statistic as lenders are looking to increase the level of lending is this sector.

Overall these figures show a lot less gloomy position than previously reported or expected, so perhaps it's not such a bad time to buy after all!

Lords' Director Peter Bradnick explains, "stories that say that the market is nice and steady do not sell newspapers, but headlines that read ‘HOUSE PRICE FALLS EXPECTED' or something equally alarmist in the redtops have us dipping in our pockets for the latest edition"

"Bear in mind also, that different parts of the country are affected in very different ways as far as house prices are concerned. The area of South West London that Lords covers has a massive amount to offer potential buyers from exceptional schools to the wonderful open spaces like Richmond Park; from fantastic shopping centres to an excellent transport infrastructure; from a low crime rate to a high employment rate: The list is endless!"

"If you want to know about properties for sale in the Kingston upon Thames area or want to know what is actually happening in the local market and why you should buy here, talk to one of Lords Estate Agents branch managers," Peter added, "Get good advice from the people who know!"

For more information, contact Peter Bradnick at Lords on 020 8546 6800 or by email at pbradnick@lordsonline.co.uk or visit your local Lords' branch.

The statistics quoted and views reported are valid for October 2010