Tuesday, Apr 13, 2010
Over the Hill (again)
Times: House prices fall despite increased interest from first-time buyers
Apparently, first-time buyers returned to the housing market in February but their increased numbers failed to prevent a slight decline in house prices as figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government reveal that house prices fell by 0.1 per cent between January and February.
Posted by enuii @ 11:20 PM (2108 views) Add Comment
9 Comments
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1. devo said...
loans [to first time buyers] collapsed between December and January from 24,800 to 11,200
funny, i don't remember reading about that at the time - surely the times is not selective in its reporting?
incidentally, how do these figures compare to 2007/2008? one of you should know
2. Exiges said...
I find this bit interesting:
"with prices down 3.9 per cent for recently built property compared with an 8.2 per cent price rise for pre-owned homes. "
3. quiet guy said...
Devo,
I had a quick sniff around the web. Couldn't find much useful for 2008 but this graph puts things into perspective.
(Source: http://pricedout.org.uk/News/PressReleases/BetrayalofFirstTimeBuyers/tabid/199/Default.aspx)
Things are even worse than I thought for FTBers.
4. devo said...
nice chart, qg - thanks
an update to the end of 2009 would be useful
a month by month breakdown would be even more interesting
perhaps david smith would like to share?
5. mrflibble said...
First-time buyers returned to the housing market in February but their increased numbers failed to prevent a slight decline in house prices, official figures suggest.
So what we are seeing are the cannon fodder people becoming less and less likely to run across the battlefield naked shouting "shoot me, shoot me." I'm shocked by this, truly I am.
6. yorkshireman said...
I run a business, not a property busines, I hasten to add. When there are competitive pressures, like more products or companies in the market, then prices come down. That is a simple fact which we face every day in the real market as distinct from the 'property market'
Only yesterday, the BBC reported there were more 'properties' on the market. See link below
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8615105.stm
More properties on the market means lower prices, particuarly as first time buyers are a lot more switched on and less like lambs to the slaughter. The situation is going to become a lot worse for sellers and speculators.
7. inbreda said...
more to the point FTBs buy a house as a home. Once bought the price of the property becomes largely irrelevant, particularly as a fall in values is theoretically better if they want to subsequently move to a bigger place.
BTLs on the other hand are treating it like an investment. When prices come down a bit (I'm thinking 2008) they see it as a great buying opportunity. When prices come down further they will no longer see it as an opportunity, they will lick their wounds. When prices continue to fall they will bail.
The presence of BTL is going to make the market far more volatile.
8. mark wadsworth said...
Picking up on QG's chart and what Mr F says, it strikes me that BTLers are the new cannon fodder. Anyways, I've updated my chart comparing quarter-on-quarter price changes (adjusted for inflation) for the period Q1 1989 onwards (blue) and Q1 2007 onwards (red). Despite the Tories just ignored falling prices and Labour have done everything within their power to prop them up, the two trends are surprisingly similar:
9. Bandwagon said...
Great graph, do you have anywhere that you post this info?