19
Aug
An Uncanny Silence!
As far as the media's reporting of the housing market is concerned
we find ourselves in an unusual situation of not hearing much. We
have for the most part of this year become accustomed to the Great
British press waving their hate banner at anything good and the
property market, after years of boom, became a very easy and
venerable target. However, whilst the impact is measured and with
slow but building effect, there is some good news on the horizon.
Building societies are keen to reduce rates and encourage safe and
sensible lending, nothing wrong with that. There seems to be a more
realistic approach to property values from the vendors perspective,
giving far more stability to prices, by this we mean the false
ceiling and over ambitious expectations have receded which means
that buyers can see where prices really are. This has become far
more apparent from the offers now being received. In the early
summer it was not uncommon to see bids 20% less than asking prices,
now 5% is more the norm. Yes of course it is a buyers market and a
good ready, willing and able prospect has every reason to expect a
discount. The question remains of course for how much longer? Not
perhaps as long as many might expect!