18
Jul
'Upturn signs' in housing market
The housing market is showing the first signs of an upturn since
2006, the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has said. The body's
survey of Britain's major home builders found 60% of those asked
had seen an increase in sales compared to the same time last year.
The HBF says the industry has been through the economic equivalent
of a tsunami, with an estimated 250,000 construction jobs lost in a
year. It says the biggest hurdle to recovery is now the
availability of mortgages. Chancellor Alistair Darling is to meet
with the banks next week to remind them of their legally-binding
obligation to lend more money to homebuyers. Steve Turner,
spokesman for the HBF, said the survey results were a welcome
boost.
"It's been a very difficult year, but what we are starting to
see is a consistent set of modest but positive results now in terms
of visitor levels, in terms of reservations. "I think for the first
time in a number of months the industry is starting to feel more
positive." But BBC correspondent Keith Doyle said experts were
warning that the industry was still fragile because although new
home sales had increased, they were at an extremely low level last
year. James Corcoran, who is a few weeks away from completing on a
new home, said he felt it was the right time to buy. "Confidence is
slowly coming back because people have got to move on with their
lives - like myself. "I've got a young family and need to move so
I'm comfortable that the decision I've made is the right one for me
and my family."
BBC News. (2009). Upturn Signs in Housing Market. [Online].
Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8157072.stm
Accessed 18th July 2009.