Billy Ray Valentine

Of course they will. Doesn't matter though as prices are set at the margins and there will be enough sellers willing/having to drop their price which will bring prices down regardless.

Seeing plenty of reductions at the moment. Places still sitting in the market since end of last year. Prices not much different from January. I feel things are really on a knife edge at the moment........

Thanks for this. So we've just seen a major slowdown in approvals in the early part of what is normally the busiest time of the year. Looking good.

It won't need base rates to rise for prices to significantly fall. If they go up the fall will be quicker than without, but they needn't be and IMO won't be the main cause. Also mortgage rates are already significantly detached from base rate. I believe even just a 1% rise would see an accelerated crash.

The second quarter mentioned there will only include one month of MMR lending, so a far from reliable measure to judge any possible MMR impact. As has been shown in a couple of other threads April had a massive surge in lending while this has clearly dropped off massively in May.

What do you mean by 'working capital'? Under the FSCA limit threshold? Where do you think is best to keep your money in todays environment? I've got a STR fund to try and manage and could do with some tips.

The figures you posted in another thread show up the lie in the article: The spin is so obvious it's frustrating but I'm optimistic in equal measure that things could well be turning.

Exactly how I read it. Demand might be high for young men for sports cars, but that doesn't mean many of them are in the position to actually buy one.........

Thanks. The drop off is indeed massive. And all that money withdrawn from ISA's in April as well. Can't help but wonder how much of that money found it's way into deposits for mortgages approved in May......................

Can you explain these numbers? Do you mean for example that Feb 2014 was up 43% YOY, or up 43% since April/May 2013?

I too think it's too early to tell what impact MMR will have, though I'm optimistic it will have a positive impact in creating price falls. This has it's own thread, but worth posting here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27920279

Always good to see such articles and fingers crossed we are at the start of something happening this summer. Why though do people like the writer of this article insist that there isn't a bubble outside London? Because prices are 'only' at 2007 levels? 2007 was the bubble to end all bubbles - one that the country is still in? He says that houses are priced at 4.7x the average wage - that would make the average wage nationwide £35k! That's complete nonsense.

Yep, my NW 5 year fix is the same. Some fixes you can overpay, some you can't, depends what deal you go for.

If your suspicion was correct I would imagine the bank wouldn't the bank have offered them the longer term deal by now? Lloyds is one bank that has already limited mortgages to 30 year terms nationwide I believe. I expect more to follow.

Hang in there. Where I am (Northants) prices are coming on at or at least pretty near 2007 prices, but much of that sits for a long time before selling. I've been loosely following 20-30 of these houses, many of them since Jan, and plenty have reduced their prices, some by up to £15-20K, to no avail. Sold prices are up about £6-7K over a 12 month period. This recent 'surge' is purely HTB stoked, and has bought out all sorts of jokers chancing their arm with asking prices, while suckering in unwary fearful/greedy buyers who are convinced that they must buy now or miss out for ever. I suspect many sellers take their house off the market if they don't receive asking price within a couple of months, while the serious sellers slowly realise that their house isn't worth a great deal more than what it was last summer. Take sentiment out of the equation and this baby is going down.

Cash taken out from ISA's at a record high in April, usually the month for the biggest deposits, and this trend has apparently continued 'into recent months' according to the below article: http://news.sky.com/story/1274709/isa-deposits-suffer-unprecedented-fall Now we have an incredible 3.9% rise in Mortgages for May. So it appears that a mad rush of BOMAD, FTB, second stepper money has been flowing out of ISA's which are 'earning nothing', into buying houses, some with the aid of HTB, in a fear/greed driven panic to avoid 'missing the boat', a panic possibly exacerbated by a determination to get in before the new MMR regulations came into force. Am I over simplifying things?

I wondered this as well.

On my street one place has been on the market since February, on at about 2007 peak prices. (140K) Sold sign went up 3-4 weeks ago, a couple of weeks ago it went back for sale. Price reduced by £2.5K. Currently still sitting there. Plenty of places I track have been on the market since Jan, many have reduced prices, some by as much as £10K and still no buyers.

Where are the media talking about a crash? Some talk of a bubble but that's not the same thing. Certainly there's no crash yet, but interesting to discuss possible early signs of the market (ahem) 'softening'.

If outcomes were that certain based on bookies odds then there would be no bookies.

UKIP and Labour coalition looks most likely to me.

I was thinking exactly that earlier on. A woman I work with told me earlier that houses have 'gone up by 10%. Isn't it wonderful'? I said that no it wasn't and for a second thought she was going to point at me and call out to the others............

I've almost just pissed my self laughing after seeing that. Jesus.

I'm not so sure. Lloyds/RBS limiting lending (albeit still at a high price), MMR introduction and removal of FLS all indicate their intentions lay in the other direction to me.

I notice that this months figure is actually 0.5 less than last month - so is todays figure actually another possible sign of the market beginning to slow?